Stitch it Together
by Milkshake Money
Summary: Like a dress, a relationship must be built with care; stitch by stitch. Petra struggles with her hidden affections for her captain. Levi struggles with himself. Through interactions and acts of kindness, they begin to weave a foundation towards friendship... and more. Multi-chapter fic. Rated T for language!
1. Stitch me up

**I've really wanted to write a Rivetra story for a while now. They are my OTP! In general not a huge fan of Levi (meh..), but he is fun to write for, and I was really a huge fan of Petra, before, ya know... **

**This story is going to stick as close to the canon-verse as possible. So be warned. That being said, this takes place several months before the attack on Trost, and may eventually lead up to that point and beyond.**

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**~STITCH IT TOGETHER~  
**

Petra liked Levi's horse, she decided as she brushed the black mare named Crasher. Crasher was calm and graceful, but fierce when the situation called for it, much like her owner. The horses needed to get their new shoes put in today, and Petra had volunteered for the task. The lack of new recruits to do the busy work meant that even the elite squads had to take shifts doing some of the manual labor. Erd, Gunther, and Auruo had all gotten stuck with mucking out stalls for the day, but Petra's extended knowledge of horse care had blessed her with a better job to do.

Crasher was the last horse left that still needed to receive the new horseshoes. Petra led her out of her stall and tied her down the middle of the barn hall. She first removed the old shoes, then began picking out the trapped dirt from the hooves with the hoofpick. She was just finishing the second leg when her ears picked up soft footsteps behind her.

Petra turned around to see her captain, standing by the doorway with his arms crossed, his bored eyes staring vaguely at his horse. His raven-colored hair framed his face neatly, with his signature undercut, cravat, and scouting legion jacket. Although he was small of stature, he was undeniably large of presence.

"Captain! Hi, umm," she fidgeted awkwardly for a moment, not sure whether or not to salute. But something about his stance looked more relaxed than usual, so she decided it probably wasn't necessary. Instead she gave a warm smile. "What brings you here?"

"I finished all my work early, and shitty-glasses took it as an invitation to talk my ear off about titans," Levi began, plopping down on the bench against the wall, "I decided I'd rather help my squad in the stables than listen to her incessant chatter. But like hell if I'd ever help those idiots scoop out heaping piles of horse shit. So here I am with you, Petra..." he trailed off, rubbing his temple between his thumb and pointer finger.

Petra nodded, noting that he didn't really look to have any intention of getting up to help her. More likely he had just come here to get some peace and quiet. She doubted he realized that replacing horseshoes required hammering in a lot of nails.

She got back to work cleaning the rest of Crasher's hooves, allowing her captain to have at least some quiet time. His horse, like everything else he owned, was always kept in pristine condition, so the cleaning didn't take long. She felt his eyes on her as she worked.

After nailing the first front shoe in, she looked up to see Levi rubbing his temple again.

"Captain, would you like to help me nail these in? It's always easier with two people," Petra said softly, amber eyes looking him over kindly.

He nodded, getting up rather reluctantly, and she almost felt bad for not just letting him sit and rest. She waved the slight regret off as he walked over to stand in front of her.

"Tell me what to do, " he said, patting the black mare softly on her muscled neck. She nickered at her owner in response.

"Just pick up her foot and hold it up for me as I fit the shoe, then I'll hammer it in," Petra said. She peeled her gaze away from his tired, but attractive, face, his eyes roaming the well-groomed mare approvingly. She was truthfully very attracted to him, because despite his brash and rude ways, he also had a caring, determined side that came out in rare moments like this. But she couldn't make her admiration so blatant by doing things like staring too long. She was his subordinate, after all.

Levi nodded again and trailed his fingers down Crasher's front leg, leaning his shoulder against the mare's to get her to shift her weight to her other side. He bent over as she lifted her hoof, his hands holding it up.

Petra went about nailing the shoe in as Levi held everything in place patiently, silently observing the procedure. Her fingers worked quickly with deft precision. The first time their fingers brushed, she drew hers away quickly like she'd touched fire and blushed; but as they worked on and made their way to nailing the other shoes, she became more at ease with his close proximity, and they fell into wordless, synchronized teamwork.

As she was hammering in the finishing nail on the last horseshoe, her hand slipped and she caught a sharp edge of the shoe, slicing deeply into her right-hand palm.

"Ah!" she yanked her hand away, blood dripping down to her wrist. The pain was sharp, but it was eclipsed by her imminent embarrassment in front of her captain.

"Shit, Petra," Levi said, setting the hoof down and pulling out a handkerchief. "Here," he gently took her hand and wrapped it in the white cloth, permanently dying it red with her blood. His expression looked slightly more tired than before, brow low over sunken gray eyes.

Petra felt him apply pressure to her hand, and she imagined her face as a deep shade of red by now; she was definitely flustered at this point. "I-it's ok, captain! It's just a cut…"

"Bullshit. You're bleeding like a fucking fountain." he said, squeezing her palm harder with both of his thumbs, enveloping the rest of her hand in his own warm hands. "Tch... you're gonna need stitches or something."

Levi dropped one of his hands, but continued to apply pressure with the other.

"Come on, let's get out of this dirty place and take care of your hand." He turned away, gently tugging on her hand for her to follow him out.

_Captain Levi… holding my hand?_ Petra thought as she followed her captain's lead out of the stables into the dark night. She knew it definitely wasn't like that, and that he was just helping her to stop the bleeding, but it still made her nervous. She hated how it was making her blush like some silly wall Sina maiden, and was thankful for the darkness that would hopefully conceal the shade of her face.

Luckily they didn't encounter anyone on the short walk to Levi's office; it was just around supper time so everyone who had finished their chores and training was probably in the mess hall eating. Levi was still gripping her hand, and she felt more at ease with it now. It felt nice, truthfully, but she fought the urge to curl her fingers and grip his own hand in return; that would definitely cause him to drop hers.

"Sir, do you think someone will put Crasher back in her stall?" Petra said as they made their way down the hall, remembering how they had left the mare tied up in the middle.

"Don't worry about it," Levi replied evenly. He pushed the door into his office and led her in, closing the door behind them. He lifted the bloodied handkerchief from her hand, his sunken eyes seeming pleased to find the bleeding mostly stopped.

He handed her a dampened cloth. "Clean the wound, Petra," he ordered, walking back to his desk to retrieve something.

She wiped away the dried blood on her hand and wrist, cringing at the sting as she passed it over the open cut. By the desk she heard Levi rummaging for something and wondered what it might be.

He found what he was looking for and placed it on the desk, then walked back over to her. He looked from her to the desk, seemingly debating something in his head.

"I can stitch you up myself , but I'll be honest here: I've only done this once before. If you're uncomfortable with me doing it, you can probably get the legion medics to take care of it. It will take much longer for them though, as they always have a long queue of injuries to tend to."

"You can do it, captain. I trust you," Petra affirmed with a bright smile, meeting his gray eyes with her own.

"Sit up here then," Levi said, patting the clean top of his desk.

Petra hesitated a moment. Sitting... on his desk? It would probably put her in the best position for him to work on her hand, she guessed. She wondered vaguely if he had ever let anyone else sit atop his desk as she scooched herself onto the wooden surface.

He reached over to retrieve a thin, translucent pair of gloves and slipped them on; the same kind he used for cleaning; to which Petra stifled a giggle - it was so like him to ensure the cleanliness of every situation.

He threaded a needle with twine then struck a match, holding the tiny flame to the needle point.

"You taught me how to shoe a horse today, so now I'll teach you how to stitch a wound," Levi said, shaking out the match and tossing it into a cup of water.

"Yes, sir," Petra said. She was no stranger to receiving stitches - she had acquired more than a few scars of varying length throughout her years in the legion - but she had never really paid attention to the procedure. Levi's steady hands were easy to watch, though she winced as the hot needle pierced her skin at first. He was holding her hand steady, palm up, with his left hand while his right wielded the threaded needle. He was really close to her, his hip against her knee, and she could smell the faint Cologne he wore ; pine and linen.

It took a while for him to sew up the whole wound, but his demeanor remained remarkably calm throughout. If he hadn't told her before that it was only his second time giving stitches, Petra would never have guessed. He was a natural ; as if he was one of those medics that sewed people up every day.

After tying the last knot, he cleaned her hand again with the cool damp cloth, then wrapped it thinly in bandage. She glanced up at him briefly, almost smiling at his low-brow face of concentration. He managed to look good no matter what he was doing ...

Petra felt the comforting warmth of his hands leave hers as he drew back to remove the gloves. She looked down, admiring his neat handiwork.

"Thank you, captain," she said with another bright smile. She wished she could say more to him, or have a real conversation, but he was tired and her superior and so utterly unreachable...

Levi said nothing , but instead opened the door and flicked the lights off. "Come on, you should go get supper with the other soldiers . Hopefully those brats haven't eaten your rations for you by now... tch... shitty food anyway..." he trailed off.

"Ohh.. you're not going to eat anything? Do you want me to bring you something?" She asked, walking beside him down the hall.

"I'm not hungry. I'm fucking tired, that's what I am," he stopped beside the staircase and turned to face her, his hands tugging at his cravat to loosen it. "Make sure you get enough rest too. Tomorrow we resume our training schedule at first light ."

They made eye contact briefly as she nodded, and she noticed his bored gray eyes looking a bit glazed over. _Wow, he really is quite tired..._ she thought.

He turned his back to her and proceeded up the stairs. Petra's lips turned to a small smile as she watched his small form moving away. He had such nice shoulders when he walked away, small but strong ... and here she was staring again.

"Good night!" She called as she turned to walk to the mess hall. Although she received no response, she knew he had heard. His brash attitude was nothing new; she was used to it and unfazed. It made him who he was, and she admired all of him.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Stay tuned, this will be a multi-chapter story.**

**I will do my best to post updates every Monday~**


	2. Drown it out

**Just a heads up, this is written with alternating point of views between Petra/Levi by chapter. This chapter is from Levi's POV.**

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It was a quiet night; everyone was too tired from the day's hard work to be hanging around outside after hours.

Except for Levi. Despite the intensive training, he was still restless. He didn't know where his energy was coming from, but he felt so damn wound up. It was funny how paperwork and meetings never failed to utterly exhaust him, but long hours of physical exertion seemed to fuel his energy.

It was around supper time, but Levi was skipping the meal today. He was heading to the stables; he had told Erwin he was going to town for a bit to buy more ink, but truthfully he was going to get himself some bottles of hard liquor. His private stash in his room had run out, and whiskey was the only thing that could help him sleep when he got into his restless mode. Which was increasingly often.

The autumn air was chill, but not yet cold, though the wind was persistent in ripping through his green cloak. He found Crasher also pacing restlessly in her stall. It was funny, that of all people, a horse understood him best .

He saddled her up and rode off to town. The scouting legion was inside wall Rose for now, stationed in an abandoned castle near the Trost district to await an upcoming expedition in a few weeks. It was only a short ride to the bustling town bordering the wall.

He tied the mare up at a post near the liquor store on the outskirts of town. Alcohol was frowned upon in the military, but by no means forbidden. It was only discouraged to prevent soldiers from becoming raging alcoholics to cope with the horrors they have witnessed. Drinking wasn't a coping mechanism for Levi though, just a means to get some damn sleep.

The liquor store looked run down and dingy from the outside; Levi scoffed as his hand turned the grimy doorknob, and he made a mental note to wash his hands very well when he next got the chance.

Inside was surprisingly clean, with tidy shelves of bottles lining the perimeter. His sunken gray eyes roamed the store approvingly as he went to a nearby aisle to select his whiskey.

_Fuck..._ he thought in mild annoyance as he noticed they were sold out of his favorite brand. The only bottles left were of the cheap shitty brand, and a mystery bottle in the shade at the very back of the shelf. He sighed and reached back for the lonely bottle at the back, his short arm almost fully extending just to get back that far.

The brand on the bottle wasn't one that Levi recognized, though the label being partially torn off may have attributed for that. In case the mystery brand turned out to be as shitty as the cheap brand, he picked up a fifth of vodka for good measure, as well as a shot glass.

The shopkeeper, a gangly young man who looked too young to be working such a job, flashed Levi a cheesy smile as he put the bottles up on the counter. Levi glared in response, and he could almost feel the taller boy shrink under his harsh gaze. He found it rather amusing at times how people both shorter and taller (though mostly taller) could be so flustered and intimidated by his mere presence. The power trip certainly didn't hurt his ego; not one bit.

He hadn't noticed there was another customer in the store until he heard a voice go "hmm" a few aisles back. It sounded strangely familiar...

"Levi! Ha! Fancy seeing YOU here!" Hanji's peppy voice called out as she noticed him. She was carrying a whole basketful of assorted liquors to the register. "Needed these for some experiments tomorrow, exciting stuff!"

Levi scoffed, mumbling something about her weird shitty glasses and deliberately turning his back.

"Ooh! Vodka and a shot glass? Looks like someone's partying hard tonight! I gotta say Levi, I didn't peg you as the type."

"I'm not going to anyone's shitty party. And you're one to talk," he eyed the basketful of alcohol she had, though he knew she wasn't much of a drinker so it was probably the truth when she said it was for experiments.

"Right, I always had a feeling you don't get invited to those. Something to do with how you scare everyone away with a single glance, I bet."

"Bye," Levi deadpanned, picking up the brown paper bag with the liquor he had just finished paying for.

"Wait! I'm glad I ran into you actually , I came to town with Petra - she volunteered to help me gather stuff for my experiment - but then she kinda wandered off. Would you find her for me? She should probably be around the outskirts still somewhere. I really have to go set up for this experiment before daylight, so I can't waste any more time looking for her, but I don't want her to be left alone in town this late soo..." she looked at Levi expectantly, a sickly sweet smile plastered across her features.

"Fuck, Hanji, do I look like one of your assistants to you? If you needed someone to do your bidding you should have brought one of them along. They'd be more than happy to even wipe your ass for you, but not me."

"Ugh, you grumpy old man," she wagged a finger in his face, "well, like I said, I can't spend any more time in town tonight, and Petra is YOUR subordinate after all. If you wanna leave her in town, alone at night when all the sleazy people come out to play, that's on you," she grabbed her wrapped liquor and headed out, leaving Levi to stand there like an idiot.

The cashier made the mistake of making eye contact with him, and was practically cowering beneath a scathing glare before Levi turned and also headed out.

His mood was undeniably sour now; fucking Hanji, dumping her responsibilities on him like he was her fucking dog or something. There was no way around it though; he wasn't about to leave one of his best soldiers on her own in the sketchier part of town at night. The thought of some fuck-face criminals putting their grimy hands on her made his skin crawl and blood boil. If they were anything like he had once been in his crime days... well, he'd better hurry up and get to her first.

He searched the streets near the liquor store a bit to no avail, and a restless anxiety began to take root in his stomach. He passed by Petra's horse tied to a post, indicating that she was still in town somewhere. What if she really had run into some trouble? It would be a terrible shame to lose a top soldier in such a way... He swore he would fucking KILL Hanji if Petra wound up hurt because of her irresponsibility, or worse...

He thought he saw a flash of strawberry blonde hair in the distance, and his eyes narrowed. This particular street was rather dimly lit, save for the candle booth that was run by some old hag. As he made his way closer to the dark figures around the booth, the wings of freedom symbol on a green cloak was unmistakable; as was the honey colored hair.

Levi walked up to her and roughly grabbed her wrist, yanking her around to face him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Wandering around shitty places at night by yourself?"

"Ah! C-captain!" Petra gasped in surprise. She quickly regained her composure. "I had to retrieve something sir, I was with Hanji but somehow we got separated, I was just about to leave though..." she wouldn't meet his eyes as she spoke.

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you," he said sternly, still burning with annoyance.

She slowly lifted her amber eyes to meet his, and he sensed something was off. Her eyes looked glassy and watery like she was about to cry or something. _Christ, was it something I said? _It didn't quite add up though; he had reprimanded her for things before, every bit as harshly, yet she always kept her cool. In fact, she was one of the few people that were usually unfazed by his ice cold glare.

He loosened his grip on her wrist slightly, but didn't let go.

"You should know better, Petra. I'm disappointed. I picked you for my squad because you're not an idiot, so I don't understand why you're acting like one," he said, then looked away, realizing how harsh he sounded.

She took it well enough though, nodding solemnly. "Yes, sir. I promise to be more mindful in the future."

"Good."

He let go of her wrist and beckoned her to follow, turning away. She gave a small wave and apologetic smile to the old candle lady before following Levi, a small bag around her hand.

They walked through the dark streets in stony silence for a while before Petra finally spoke up.

"So um, did Hanji send you to look for me? Is she OK?"

"Yes. Fucking shitty glasses ditched you, then dumped it on me to go fetch you so she can go fuck around instead or something. Like hell, I didn't know I'd be fucking babysitting when I came to town and..." he paused, realizing yet again he was being harsh. He shouldn't be displacing his annoyance at Hanji onto Petra. He was being more vulgar than usual because of his general restlessness. And somehow he didn't want to be all shitty towards her when she was looking off and strangely vulnerable. So he changed the subject.

"What's in the bag?" He asked in a far softer, calmer tone.

"Oh! You mean this? This, is umm..." she fidgeted unusually. Why was she acting so strange? "It's just a candle, sir. It's for someone special," she said with a soft, sad smile.

Levi's ears perked up at the words. For someone special? Of all things, why would she get her boyfriend a candle? This night just kept getting stranger. He almost rubbed his temple out of pure habit, but suppressed the urge.

"Captain, what's in your bag?"

He hesitated, remembering the brown bag he was still clutching. _Should I tell her? I don't want her to think I'm some drunkard man... _

But why did he care what she thought of him anyways? It wasn't like him to concern himself with such things.

"Whiskey and vodka," he admitted. _Yup, definitely made me sound like a drunk._

"Nice! I keep some drinks stashed in my room from time to time too," she piped in with a cheery smile, the lines of sadness gone .

It certainly wasn't the answer he was expecting. Surprised, he cast a sidelong glance at the enthusiastic girl.

She seemed to remember who she was talking to just then, and her smile abruptly faded. "Ah, sorry , captain, sir, I mean - you won't tell anyone right? I know it's improper and you told me not to be an idiot and-"

"Relax, Petra. You needn't be so formal with me when we're off duty," Levi said. Sometimes he wished he could be rid of the burden of his rank, so that people like Petra could just speak to him freely without getting all flustered and reverting to stiff and formal talk. He may be a leader, but he was still a person too after all... a fact that seemed universally overlooked in the legion these days, after earning the titles of Lance Corporal and humanity's strongest.

"Okay, Levi," Petra said softly. He started at the use of his name, earning her another sidelong glance, but in a better way this time. Her kind smile and honey eyes seemed to radiate with a pleasant warmth. It felt refreshing somehow, for someone other than rude Hanji to be comfortable with him. It reminded him of how it felt to have friends; he hadn't had friends in years, and he was finding it was something he sorely missed. He doubted his subordinate would ever consider him a friend though.

The two soldiers stopped by their horses. Levi secured his liquor bag to the saddle then climbed atop his mare, while Petra did likewise with her dark bay gelding.

"Captain, I mean, Levi, is it okay if we stop somewhere along the way? It won't take long, I promise , and it's very close to the base." Her warm honey eyes met his yet again, and he found he couldn't say no to her even if he wanted.

"Fine," he said simply. He wondered where she wanted to stop by at 10pm on a week night. Perhaps she wanted to drop by her boyfriends house and deliver her weird candle. He didn't exactly know what type of guy she was into, but he guessed it wasn't the tall, buff type because she had already turned down a few of those in the legion that had come onto her. So her boyfriend was probably some scrawny pansy who wrote shitty poetry and had a candle fetish. No doubt he would utterly shrivel under Levi's cold gaze. The thought of it was oddly satisfying to Levi, his thin lips almost pulling up to a smirk.

Petra took the lead, riding ahead on her gelding. They stuck to the path until they were a little further than halfway, then she detoured onto a narrower, rocky path through a thicket of foliage. Levi followed, growing more and more interested in finally seeing her jungle-living, candle-fucking boyfriend. Really, this mystery guy just kept getting better.

To his mild disappointment, they stopped at the edge of trees, near the edge of a cliff. This cliff wasn't too high, but the view was definitely impressive. The sound of a nearby waterfall was accompanied by the sight of a winding river disappearing over the horizon below them. Shimmering moonlight illuminated the ripples of the water.

Petra dismounted and walked over to the tallest tree, sitting between the trunk and a short, flat rock. Levi sat down beside her as she took out the candle and placed it on the flat surface of the rock. His eyes watched her face, waiting for an explanation as she struck a match and lit the candle.

"Sorry to drag you out here with me. But, well, today's the anniversary of my mother's death four years ago. She caught that nasty plague that was going around and wasn't able to receive the vaccine in time to save her life. She never got a burial or a tomb because they had to burn all the bodies. So now, since I have no grave to visit... I try to at least light her a candle every year," she said, the dim candlelight reflecting on her glassy amber eyes. Yet again she looked like she might cry or something. Levi looked away; he wasn't so good at dealing with emotional people, he lacked the sensitivity to be anything but blunt.

He turned his attention to her hands, arranging the white roses from her bag neatly around the glowing candle. Apparently the candle wasn't the only thing she had bought; he felt a pang of guilt for thinking it was all for some boyfriend of hers or whatnot. The special someone was actually her late mother.

She took out a paper of some sort from her pocket. "I write her a letter every year too... I know it seems silly but ..." he thought he saw a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"It's not silly," he assured.

She nodded, unfolding the letter and holding it over the flickering flame . Levi could make out the names of Erd and Auruo in the letter before the embers dissolved them into ash. He wondered if there was any mention of him in her letter, and if so, what she had said...

She dropped the letter when the embers began to close in on her fingers, letting the rest of it turn to scattered ashes speckling the white rose petals. The whole scene looked strangely poetic, and beautiful in a haunting way.

His eye caught the glint of white twine on her right palm, and he reached for her hand, pulling it close to observe it. Her breath caught at this.

"Your hand has healed well," he said approvingly. It had been a week now since he had stitched it up for her. "I can remove these for you tomorrow if you stop by my office," he offered, tracing his thumb lightly over the threads.

"Thank you," she breathed.

He relaxed his arms and looked up again, taking in the scene for a few minutes and appreciating the quiet peace. He felt at ease here, listening to the light rustling of leaves, the distant running water, and the honey-haired girl breathing beside him. After a while he noticed that she seemed oddly flustered for some reason. It wasn't until he looked down that he realized with a start that he was still holding her small, warm hand between his rough hands on his lap. The sensation had been so comfortable that he'd forgotten about it, but he realized it was probably what was freaking her the hell out.

Gingerly, he gave her back her hand and stood up. Something about flickering flames and picturesque scenes always mesmerized him and made him space out stupidly like that.

"Do you want to be alone?" He asked, not wanting to intrude further upon her personal ritual. Clearly it meant a lot to her, and he had to respect that.

"No, that's okay, I've done what I needed to do," Petra said, the kind smile returning to her face. She whispered a quick "I love you, mom," and blew out the candle, then stood up.

They rode back to the base quietly under the pale, silver full moon.

The whiskey turned out to be shitty, Levi thought later as he sat in his room, illuminated only by the moonlight flickering in through his small window. He downed a shot of vodka instead and laid back in his bed, hoping the alcohol would take effect soon and calm his overwhelming restless energy**.**


	3. Admiration

"Ral, bank left!"

"Yes sir!" Petra shouted, shooting her hooks left by Erd's command. She knew exactly what to do next: she swung low, slicing behind the dummy titan's knees with her paired blades while Auruo acted as the distraction. The ten meter dummy collapsed, and not a moment later was struck in the nape of the neck by Gunther, swooping down from above with deadly precision.

The four soldiers dropped to the ground, panting and clothes damp with sweat. Their captain wasn't present, but that didn't mean they could slack on their training day. It was a good exercise in teamwork to figure things out without Levi's guidance. He was away at some sort of meeting.

Petra excelled at cooperation. When she was with her team, she felt safe, confident, and her actions came naturally. Words were often not needed; they understood each other well enough to work as a whole. It was like clockwork, she thought, wiping the sweat from her brow. They had been at it for a good while now and it was almost sunset.

"Tired yet? You can fall into my arms whenever you need to," Auruo said to her with a cheeky smile.

Petra rolled her eyes. "You wish, idiot," she said, giving him a playful shove. Auruo was a great soldier, but he always seemed intent on pestering her... kind of like the brother she never had.

"Tch, you just wait, little girl..."

Again with the Levi imitation, she thought.

"Yes, Auruo, I'm the little girl who beat you at arm wrestling last night." She flashed an innocent grin.

Erd and Gunther both burst into laughter at this.

"Sounds pretty true to me," Gunther chuckled.

"Ehh! You weren't supposed to tell anyone, wasn't that the deal?" Auruo complained, rubbing his neck and looking away.

"You haven't paid up yet! No money, no deal." Petra smiled wider, rubbing her thumb against her fingers like she was demanding the money now. Truthfully she really did want it sometime soon...

Erd rubbed her hair, chuckling "That's our Pet! You tell him, girl."

"By all means, don't stop on my account," a familiar voice echoed behind them.

Immediately the soldiers spun around and saluted in unison.

"SIR!"

Tired, sunken gray eyes scrutinized them for a moment, betraying nothing.

"At ease."

"Captain, we have completed all our team maneuvers successfully on the dummy-titans, sir, " Petra spoke up when she noticed Erd still looking startled.

The gray eyes focused on hers, and she met them full on, not batting an eyelash . She had observed Levi enough to know it was his game to intimidate others with his icy, impassive gaze. It never worked on her, though, except to send a jolt through her heart. On the outside, however , she remained perfectly steady.

His eyes shifted to the fallen dummy behind them and he nodded. She noticed he had his gear strapped on, which meant they weren't done yet.

"I set up a few more on the way back. Show me what you have improved upon in teamwork today." Levi took off through the trees, his squad following behind.

They quickly made short work of the first few dummies of varying heights as their captain looked on from a nearby tree. For the last few, he joined in, fitting into their teamwork effortlessly.

"Petra, left!" He called, heading towards the last dummy as Erd and Gunther worked together on the one behind them.

Auruo flew up high once again as the distraction while Petra sliced behind the knees. This time it was Levi who came in for the kill. He swooped down on the collapsing dummy like a falcon - the fastest of all birds - while spinning with incredible momentum.

Petra couldn't help but turn her head and watch, admiring his lethal skill. He was so natural with the gear, like it was an extension of his body, and so fast; graceful, even. It was breathtaking to watch him; he had sliced up the nape before the dummy had even finished falling to the ground from the blow to the knees. He landed calmly as it hit the ground with a thud.

The four special ops soldiers were once again all panting as they landed beside their captain, awaiting orders.

"Auruo," Levi began, "I know you can get higher than that. You're the distraction, not the live bait. Don't get caught because you're too damn lazy to go high enough."

"Yes, sir."

"And Petra." Deep gray eyes bored into hers again. "You need to swing lower for that maneuver. If you're too high on the descent or uptake, you risk getting grabbed by a fast hand if the distraction fails. And pay attention to what you're doing instead of looking back at me. That kind of shit will get you killed." He seemed less than amused. "Just because this is training doesn't mean you can blow it off and do stupid things. You perform how you practice."

"Ahh... yes, sir." How embarrassing… he'd caught her staring like an idiot.

"On the whole, good work everyone. I'm glad you all can operate with or without me. Tomorrow we will focus on individual work... solo kills." Levi sheathed his blades and beckoned for his squad to follow him out of the woods.

"Admiring the captain? Tisk, tisk," Auruo teased.

"At least I didn't try to imitate his haircut," she shot back. She heard the other two stifling their laughter. That seemed to shut him up as he mumbled something to himself.

They followed Levi all the way back to headquarters. It was now dusk and the last of the sunlight was quickly fading.

"You're all dismissed . Except for you," he eyed Petra.

They all saluted, the three men looking at each other and probably wondering what their captain would do to their poor little girl. They dispersed, leaving Petra and Levi together at the foyer.

They eyed each other for a moment as she gave a confused smile. He tapped the inside of his palm with a finger and that's when she recalled the stitches .

"Oh, I'd forgotten all about it," she said as she followed him into his office.

"Sit up," he motioned to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors and tweezers. He slipped on the translucent gloves as she sat herself up on the desk again, offering up her hand.

She observed closely again as his calm, steady hands cut and pulled the threads out. Admittedly, his close presence and the sound of his even breathing felt good. She could smell his clean scent and minty breath from this close.

"Petra, why must you watch me like that during training? You and I both know it's not the first time you've done that. You're smart enough not to pull that shit during expeditions, but if you keep practicing that way it's only a matter of time..." his tone wasn't harsh and reprimanding as before; he sounded genuinely curious, although his eyes remained focused on his task.

Petra felt a blush creeping up and tried her best to repress it. Don't be a dumb blushing maiden... but at the same time she had no idea what to say to him... "You're just, um, captivating to watch, I suppose ."

"Captivating." he deadpanned.

"Yes, er, your skill... is very... admirable to behold." Shoot, that didn't even make sense ...

"So you admire me? Is that it?" He pulled the last thread out of the wound.

What kind of question is that? She thought, mind racing.

"Well, truthfully ... yes, captain. You are amazing! But who in the legion doesn't admire you?"

"I'm amazing." He repeated, imitating her tone. She was pretty sure he was just playing around with her at this point.

"Yes, Levi-heichou! If you could see yourself through my eyes, you'd be pretty impressed too," she said with a bright smile .

He finished cleaning the scar and removed his gloves. His impassive eyes finally lifted to meet hers as he straightened his cravat.

"Well, Petra, I appreciate the vote of confidence. Really. But staring is rude. Don't do that again."

She could see a hint of amusement on his face, but she also understood the serious message as well: she needed to be focused on herself during those times. It was true .

"Anytime, captain. And yes, I promise not to let it happen again." The embarrassment was creeping back up again the more she thought about it.

He was sitting behind his desk now, crossing his arms and looking forward at her .

"You're free to go, then."

"Thank you. For everything," she said with a smile, then headed out.

Those little moments with him always cheered her up... even if it meant enduring a bit of embarrassment. They had their moments from time to time; when they exchanged knowing glances or made those subtle jokes. She knew that was probably as close as she'd ever get to him, and she was okay with that. The little moments of understanding each other were almost like a friendship. It was enough for her, she determined as she walked down the hall; it made her happy, and deep down she really hoped that maybe it made him happy as well.

There were also moments that made her long for more, though. But those were just silly. Like when their hands sometimes accidentally brushed when she was serving him tea, or when they made eye contact seemingly at random and for a second she felt like sparks flew, or even when he'd traced his thumb along her stitches the other night and then forgot he was still grasping her hand until ten minutes later (she was sure that was a mistake, and didn't dare hope otherwise.) Or the time she'd passed out from dehydration during a particularly brutal training exercise and awoke to find herself being carried back in his arms. These moments were just her guilty pleasures though. He had infinite compassion for his comrades, she knew, underneath his brash attitude and impassive face. And she was no exception - another valued comrade, but nothing more.

It was sad, in a way, to have such strong feelings towards something that could never, would never, be. And towards someone who was utterly off-limits; never out of sight but always out of reach. Yes, it was sad, but it was a beautiful sadness. A sweet sadness that she would never wish away.

Everything will be okay in the end, she told herself. It was one of her personal mantras, one that she tried to tell herself whenever she felt like she was going to start over-thinking trivial matters. There were bigger issues at hand than her lonely soul. The scouting legion strode towards a larger goal; their little lives didn't count on the whole. It was the fact that every soldier accepted upon joining the ranks.

For now, she'd just take things day by day, as always. For now… she'd go claim that money that Auruo owed her.

* * *

**Just a short chapter ^_^ I wanted to show a bit of their day-to-day training and interactions, and also interactions with the whole squad! (Love them all)**

**And to add details to what Petra believes are her unrequited, unwanted feelings~**

**Thank you for the reviews and follows! I appreciate it, I am still very new to this site so it's pretty cool to have people reading my stuff already :D**

**Next chapter will be much longer, stay tuned.**


	4. Words and letters

The next few days of training were uneventful. The only noteworthy happening was the approval of the next scouting expedition. Erwin had finally received the support and funds by the central command; if only to shut him up. He had been pushing for the expedition for a while now - as always seemed to happen.

Upcoming expeditions were generally pretty good news; making any progress in reclaiming wall Maria was good. But it also meant a metric shit-ton of paper work had to be done in the month or two beforehand. The additional training was no stress, but the papers certainly were.

Levi scowled at the stack on his desk. If he had known that taking up the second-in-command post would entail all this, he would have been far more hesitant to accept. It was at times like these when he wondered why he had accepted at all.

He got halfway through the work before he felt his eyes glaze over and sat back. A break would be nice, but it was getting awfully late into the night and he was tired as shit. He needed a cup of coffee... or perhaps just a change of setting.

There was only one other place he could think to go: the common area on the second floor. It was a cozy room with couches, a coffee table and a fireplace. Soldiers often hung out there in their free hours to relax, unwind, and socialize. Levi didn't go there much; he preferred to read during his free time, alone. But at this hour it was likely to be deserted, so it would be a good spot to finish up.

The room was dark and luckily empty when he arrived. He sat down on the deep red couch and placed the papers on the coffee table in front, then lit a candle. The room was a bit untidy, which bothered him, and he was glad for the dim lighting just then; the less he saw of the mess, the better. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

He got to work scrawling on a few papers, and was at it for a while he when noticed movement at the corner of the room from his peripheral vision. He froze, eyes narrowing and mind immediately thinking of what things in his vicinity could be used as weapons. The shadowy figure stood from the couch in the corner and walked over slowly to the candlelight.

Levi quietly released a breath as the figure drew closer. It was just some short soldier. Some girl. Oh, it was _that girl_. His subordinate, Petra Ral.

And.. what the hell was she wearing?

"Captain?" She squinted and took a step forward. She was wearing… black spandex shorts and a dark gray-and-red, loose fitting shirt. He could see her smooth, slender legs and slender arms… and the tight spandex left little to the imagination. "Ah, captain! It is you. Sorry if I startled you. I was writing something and then I kind of fell asleep, my candle must have burned out too…" she trailed off, clutching the folded up letter she had been writing.

"What are you wearing?" He said bluntly, still fixated on her long legs. He tore his gaze away to see a deep blush blaze across her features.

"Ehh! Umm," she tugged at the bottom of the shorts, looking rather self-conscious and trying to make them seem longer than they actually were. "This is what I wear to sleep, and, well, you know, nobody usually comes around here at this hour of night, I thought it'd just be fine, but then you came, my apologies, captain, I used to have decent PJ pants but then they were stolen so I kinda only have these and-"

"It's fine," he waved a hand to quiet her. He didn't need to hear her life's story in the form of a rambling, run-on sentence. Especially not at midnight. He turned his focus back to his paper.

"Captain, do you need anything before I go?"

"Yes. If you want to help, get me a coffee."

"Coffee?! But Levi, it's almost midnight!"

He stopped what he was writing and looked up. Only she would have the audacity to question his demands like that. He hadn't yet decided whether he found it intriguing or off-putting. It all depended on his mood, he supposed, and just right now it seemed pretty damn annoying.

"How about I make you some tea instead? I think it will be better for you."

He was about mumble something shitty about her not being his freaking mother, but when he looked into her eyes the words died on his tongue. She looked as tired and he, and yet was still offering to do him a favor. After all this time, he could still never work up the nerve to be rude to the short, honey-haired girl .

"Fine. Tea it is."

Levi leaned back and rubbed his eyes as Petra nodded and walked away. As he watched her go, his eyes were drawn to her waist, outlined very nicely by those spandex shorts...

Ugh, was he really staring at her ass? He looked down, feeling like some creepy old pervert. She was barely nineteen; he was thirty-one... too old to be staring at teenage girls.

He only had a few papers left to do; if he pressed on, it would only take him about ten minutes. Fifteen, at most.

He was on the second-to-last paper, something about agreeing to account for all resources used on the expedition, when Petra quietly came back in with his tea.

"Thank you," he mumbled as she set the tea down next to him. She set down one for herself too.

"Do you mind if I join you? Tea calms me down too. I promise I won't bother you."

"Go ahead."

Her lips turned up to a small smile and she sat at the opposite end of the two-cushion sofa, to his left. She kept her promise and was quiet, sipping on her tea and reading over her letter as he finished the last of his work.

He set his pen down when he finished and leaned back, gripping his teacup by the rim as he also sipped. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his subordinate pocket her letter and turn to him.

"Captain... I've always wondered, why do you hold the teacup like that?"

Ugh. The teacup question. What was it with people and the way he chose to hold his damn drink? Was it really that peculiar? Levi couldn't even count the number of people that had asked him that. It was only a matter of time before it got to her as well; she had gone a whole year being in his squad without once mentioning or asking about it, but finally the curiosity caught up. He never answered that question; he just completely ignored whoever asked. In a way, it was like his little secret. And it was amusing to watch people guess, as if the way he held his drink was a matter of any importance at all.

But it wasn't all that fun anymore. He figured he should eventually tell someone. For all he knew, the upcoming mission could be his last. It would be such a tragedy if the secret were to die with him. And to all the those who speculated about it, the actual answer was laughably simple and underwhelming.

"The handle is often more fragile than people realize. And it's completely unpredictable; you never know when it will break and spill your damn tea everywhere, making a huge mess. I hate messes. And I hate surprises. The rim is far more reliable."

"Hmm... so I'm guessing that has happened to you before?"

Where was she getting the nerve to talk to him like this? He couldn't say he minded, but it was unusual to be having such a casual conversation with a subordinate.

"Yes... once..." he muttered.

"And you've had trust issues with teacups ever since," she teased, giggling as she downed the rest of hers.

Either she was really warming up to him... or she was tired and delirious.

"Petra, I have a pair of those shitty legion sweatpants that I never use. Not really my thing. You should take them," he suggested, changing the subject. She needed something better to wear than those overly revealing spandex shorts.

"Whaa? Are you sure? I mean... they might not fit or..."

"They'll fit." He didn't need to explain further, thankfully, because she nodded in understanding. After all, he was only an inch taller than the petite girl. He wasn't embarrassed about his height or anything, but he didn't like to have to explain the impairments of being short - such as wearing more or less the same sized clothes as his teenaged, female subordinate.

"They're in my room, in the closet to the right. You should go pick them up now… and then sleep. You look like you need some rest."

"Ohh… do I really look that bad?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

He had decided by this point to chalk up her strangeness to being exhausted. They had, after all, been training on making individual kills all day, which tended to be far more taxing than teamwork training; especially for Petra, because it was the area she needed the most improvement in . Still, he wasn't really sure how to answer that question.

Did she look that bad? Well, yes, he thought as he glanced at her - her amber eyes sunken and tired, looking almost like his. They were glazed over - he knew that look, because he wore that expression too when he was that tired. Looks like they had something in common besides being short after all. But he couldn't just tell her she looked awful. Dammit… he just couldn't stand to be rude to Petra and it drove him crazy.

"You look fine," he lied. "But you should still go to sleep now."

"As you wish…" she said sleepily, running a hand through her strawberry blonde hair. Her hair glowed in the candlelight as it moved. Her long eyelashes glowed, her soft skin glowed… she looked unreal just then, like some sort of daydream. He was suddenly overcome with an urge to reach out and discover whether her hair really felt like silk, or whether she was even real at all. He blinked hard, pushing the impulsive thoughts from his head.

"Good night, Mr. Captain Levi." Petra stood up, then reached over and ruffled Levi's hair, shattering his reverie. He felt her touch, confirming that she was indeed real after all. With a beaming smile she picked up her empty tea cup and left.

What the actual fuck? There must have been something in her tea. Nobody ever touched his person, let alone his hair.

Fuck... whatever... it was too late to ponder over crap or scold her. He shook his head out to fix the messed up hair then picked up his stack of papers and was about to blow out the candle when something caught his eye: a folded up paper on the couch.

It was Petra's letter. She must have forgotten it. Levi picked it up and shoved it in his pocket to give back to her later, then finally blew out the candle and left the common room.

He wasn't going to read it, he decided as he dropped the papers off in his office then went to his room. It was probably personal. Plenty of soldiers wrote letters, and like hell if he ever bothered to read all the lost letters he came across. He guessed it was either a letter to her family, in which case he didn't want to read it, or a love letter to some pansy, in which case he especially didn't want to read it. Those were the two types of letters that soldiers wrote, and he did not want to read either type - family letters made him feel intrusive, like a total dick for violating someone's private matters, and love letters made him gag and want to take a shower. It was much too late for either of those things.

After he entered his clean, tidy room, he stripped down to his sleeping clothes. As an afterthought, he checked his closet and noticed the sweatpants he never wore were gone. He was glad she at least still had wits enough to heed his advice, despite being totally out of it. He wondered if she was always that strange when she was very sleepy, or if she really had put something in her tea.

Whatever. That was an enigma for another day. The bed was calling him. He collapsed on it and was fast asleep moments later, dreaming of falling stars and fallen soldiers.

The next day consisted of a routine evaluation of soldiers. The individuals were evaluated to determine any squad transfers, and squads as a whole were evaluated in technique to determine their exact placement in the long-range scouting formation.

Unlike most squad leaders, Levi didn't have to worry about any of his soldiers being drafted off to a different squad. Being the lance corporal had its perks; he had gotten his pick of the litter when he formed his squad, and he had chosen well. The Special Ops squad members were exempt from being drafted away. Levi was allowed to draft virtually anyone from any squad into his own, but he doubted he would. With the final addition of Gunther several months ago, his squad finally felt complete and worked seamlessly, like a well oiled machine.

His mind was always open to possibilities though, so it was important that he attended and watched closely; at least for the elite squad performances. He would also be watching his own squad's exhibition. And later in the day he would have to strap on his gear and slice up some dummies too, to prove that he was still in peak condition.

That morning his squad was unusually quiet as Petra served coffee for everyone. Her face looked well rested, the sunken look of exhaustion from the previous night gone. Their eyes met for a second and he tried to soften his gaze in reassurance (though he wasn't good at giving soft looks so it probably just made him look more bored than usual). A lot of soldiers grew anxious on evaluation days; their performance determined their placement, and sometimes their placement determined their life or death.

He could tell Petra was uneasy by the way she chewed her bottom lip and pushed her breakfast around her plate. Auruo was fidgeting with his cravat, also on edge, and Gunther was being oddly chatty. Erd was the only one who seemed perfectly calm as always, and trying to lighten the mood with little success.

For most squads, the apprehension was far worse on expedition days. But Levi swore he had picked a bunch of weirdos for his squad, because they always seemed more nervous about evaluations than about expeditions. Did they really fear he was going to replace them? It was not like they had much to fear about their placement in the formation; they could handle themselves from any spot in the formation.

Maybe they just didn't like being scrutinized; Levi sure as hell didn't, but he met it with indifference rather than unease. Screw what others would think of him.

Before he knew it he was outside, perched up on a tree with the other squad leaders and observing soldiers of all levels flying through the evaluation course. The elite soldiers seemed in very good shape, but none in particular caught his eye, as he suspected. Finally he got to watch his own soldiers breeze through the course individually, and he couldn't help but feel pride in the way the other soldiers stood silent to admire their technique.

Erd Gin was bold and strong, and also had a natural affinity for leadership. He had been a squad leader for a short time before being drafted onto Levi's squad. He powered through the course with no problems. Auruo Bossard was remarkably fast and relentless; he excelled at solo kills, so he was completely in his element. Petra Ral was agile, graceful, and struck her targets with deadly precision; but still, he knew where she would really shine was later in the teamwork exhibition. Gunther Schulz was a well-rounded soldier, showing great technique and creativity.

And then it was Levi's turn to navigate the course. It was no sweat for him; he blazed through it with vigor and precision, completing it in record time. He didn't look back as he landed, several dummies collapsing behind him. He was greeted by loud cheers from the rookie onlookers.

"Tch... spare me…" he muttered, sheathing his blades and walking towards his squad.

Later he watched his squad work together as a whole. Petra in particular shined during teamwork, and Erd's leadership qualities came through. The squad surprised everyone with a new maneuver where Gunther used his gas as a smokescreen, intending to confuse the target. Since the target was a dummy it made no difference, but in a real situation it was a brilliant strategy. Petra swooped in for the kill in a flash of strawberry hair and silver steel.

Of all the things he had seen that day, that moment was the image that stuck in his mind: the smokescreen and the flash of orange and silver.

He remembered it later when he sat back in his office chair, taking a break from all the stupid papers (it was the downside of evaluation day). And remembering his squad made him recall a certain letter still in his pocket.

Levi withdrew the folded letter and turned it over, wondering if he would dare intrude upon the thoughts of the fierce honey-haired soldier. He almost unfolded it, but instead he scoffed and stood up. It was a quarter after ten; he could possibly still locate her and return the letter before he did something stupid like giving into his whimsical curiosity. After all, he recalled her confession to him a few nights ago that she wrote letters to her late mother - and he would feel like an absolute dick if he read one of those intensely personal things.

Picking up his stack of paperwork, he decided to relocate to the second floor common room once again. Sure enough, Petra was up late once again, sitting on the worn two-cushion sofa while writing diligently on the paper atop the coffee table. He noted with approval that she was thankfully wearing pants this time - his pants that he'd given her. She definitely pulled it off better than he, retaining her athletic look even in the baggy clothes.

"Oi, Petra, I have something for you."

The intent girl gasped and jumped at this - she was probably so focused that she hadn't even heard him coming in.

"Captain Levi! Ahh... what do you have, sir?"

Levi set his paperwork down on the coffee table and took a seat next to her on the couch, then flicked the folded up letter onto her side of the table. Her surprise grew even more at this; he wished he could have captured a mental image of her face, but he wasn't good at mental images.

"My letter! You found it!" She exclaimed, retrieving it happily. "Thank you, captain… wait…" her face suddenly looked anxious. "You didn't… read it, did you?" She bit her lower lip.

"No," he said truthfully, and watched her exhale in relief. Now he was especially glad he hadn't read it; whatever secrets it held would remain secrets. That was the way it should be. He didn't like to carry the burdens of other people's secrets. Still, a part of him wondered what she had written - he would never know now.

_Or… perhaps, would he?_ He thought, suppressing the urge to smirk.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Oh Levi, you grumpy perv...**

**I know they're taking it slow heheh ~ but stay tuned for epic Rivetra cuteness in the coming chapters! ^_^**

**Trust me, all the build up will be worth the wait ;D**

**Thank you for all the kind reviews and follows.**


	5. Helping hand

**(This is a continuation of the scene from last chapter, only switching to Petra's POV for the rest of the scene)**

* * *

_Thank god he didn't read it… lord knows I've embarrassed myself enough in front of him recently._

Petra crumpled up the replacement letter she had been working on after she had realized with dismay that the original one was lost. It wasn't like her to lose things so she had been frustrated, and it took a toll on the quality of her writing, so it was quite a relief to have the original back.

"It's not that there's anything bad in it," she explained, because somehow she felt the need to justify herself, "but it's just I get a little self-conscious about people reading my writing. It's like… letting someone inside my head… and all my silly random thoughts. You know what I mean?"

"Not really. I've never written a letter like that. I don't exactly have anyone who's eager to hear from me," Levi said flatly, sorting his stack of paperwork into piles.

_Oh… that's right.._ she thought. From what she knew, Levi had no family to speak of and his only friends were all dead. To be honest, she hadn't fully realized that until now. She cast a sidelong glance at his impassive face and wondered if he ever felt lonely.

"You can still… write to them, you know," she said slowly, measuring his reaction. "Your friends, I mean."

Levi blinked, his eyes narrowing and shifting from his sorting to meet hers. Her heart lurched because for a second she feared she'd overstepped a boundary; taken a liberty with an issue that he never discussed with anyone; and he would surely put her in her place.

But to her relief he simply shook his head, ever so slightly.

"That's stupid. They're dead. Dead people can't read shit," he mumbled, then froze - probably realizing who he was talking to.

"It's okay, captain. Honestly, I thought it was stupid at first too. Some scouting legion veteran advised it to me the day my mother's body was burned - the man was half mad with PTSD so I just completely dismissed it. But I kept thinking back on the idea, and a few weeks later I ended up writing her a letter. I don't know why… but it gave me a sense of closure, watching the letter go up in flames. I like to believe that somehow, some way the messages get through. Even if it's just wishful thinking, it helps me feel closer to her, and less lonely. As if all the fallen are still with us… listening to our struggles and granting us the strength to go on…" she trailed off, her eyes watching her fingers absentmindedly trace the folds of the letter on her lap.

Levi's gaze lingered on her a moment longer before turning back to his work. He probably didn't know how to respond to that. He hadn't asked for her life's story, after all; she hoped her rambling wasn't annoying him.

"Anyways, would you like help with that?" She gestured to his stack of papers while pocketing the letter. "It seems to be quite a lot. Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

He seemed to consider this for a moment, then pushed one of the piles over to her side of the table.

"These are the medical reports for our squad. All you need to do is write that everyone's all fine and peachy. Auruo is allergic to cats; that's about as far as our ailments go."

Petra nodded, holding back a giggle. She would have to remember that fun fact for the future.

They worked together quietly for almost an hour. She was glad she could help him since she had a feeling he didn't like this kind of work. She didn't mind shouldering some of the burden, especially if it meant getting to keep him company in the dim, peaceful room.

Petra finished her stack quicker, so she silently left to go make some tea.

When she returned, Levi was done and re-sorting the papers into one big stack.

She placed the teacups down and took her seat again.

"Chamomile," she said. "It will help you sleep."

He nodded, his slim fingers tracing over the tattered, shabby handle.

"See, this is exactly what I was talking about," he sighed.

She let out a little giggle. "There were only these two cups left... so I decided to give you that one since the handle wouldn't matter! And I'll be safe from trust issues for another day, so it's a win-win." She smiled big and raised hers up by the solid handle.

"It'll catch up to you some day," he said absently. He looked a bit spaced out as he always did when he was tired.

Then, to her surprise, he leaned back and threw his left arm around the couch casually as he crossed his legs, and sipped tea with the other hand. His arm rested on the cushion behind her; not touching her, because she was sitting forward instead of leaning back, but she could feel the presence of it behind her without looking. She knew it was a common, nonchalant gesture of his; he did it sometimes to others when conversing casually, and more often to rookies when he wanted to freak the hell out of them.

Still, she had to take a long gulp of tea to hopefully relax herself. _Act natural, Petra... you're not some anxious recruit._

"What did the man look like?" He asked out of the blue as she gulped the tea down.

She scrunched her eyebrows. "Umm... what man, captain?"

"You said you got the advice about the letters from a scouting legion veteran. What did he look like?"

"Oh, him. He had dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked young from a distance, but up close his face looked worn and weary. Oh, and I think he had a goatee too…" she tapped a finger to her chin, straining to remember any other details from years ago.

"And an eyebrow piercing?"

"Oh yeah! He did have an eyebrow ring! Wait… did you know him?"

"Yes…" he looked down into his tea, contemplating a moment before continuing on. "His name was Anton. He joined shortly after I did. He was a very competent soldier; we were on the same elite squad for a while, under Erwin's command, back when he was just a captain. Then on one expedition, shit really hit the fan - our squad got split up and by the time we reunited it was too late for the other half. Erwin, Hanji, Anton, and I - we watched as the last of our squad got chomped in half by some fuck-face titans. We slaughtered the ugly beasts, but we were too slow to save anyone's life," he paused, taking a long sip of tea.

"Anyway, the soldier we watched getting split in half was Anton's best friend or something. And his other friends on the squad died pretty horribly too. It really fucked him up, losing them. He started talking constantly into silent rooms, carrying conversations with dead friends who weren't really there, and he threw tantrums when people tried to tell him his friends weren't there sitting next to him or whatever. He was discharged from the legion with PTSD soon after, and then I guess he started writing letters to cope with it."

"Oh, that is so awful…" Petra said, feeling a rush of cold slither down her spine. She too had watched friends die, and she knew that feeling of teetering on the brink of insanity; the sickness of grief trying to drive her to a mental breakdown - but looking up to soldiers like Levi always kept her sane. She always remembered her purpose; to be the wings of freedom for humanity; to avenge the fallen - to carry on their strength, as Levi always said, so that they will not have laid down their lives in vain. Still, horror stories from expeditions made her skin crawl, and were too close for comfort.

"Fuck, this conversation has turned awfully depressing…" he muttered, a weary look upon his face.

"Umm…" she racked her brains, trying to think of a way to change the subject. For the sake of their sanity it was best not to dwell on such horrors. "So how did we do at evaluation today?"

"You were great. You all were. As always. There's a reason I picked you."

"That's good to hear," she smiled softly. Levi didn't praise them like that often, probably so they wouldn't become overconfident, but when he did it was sincere. Suddenly she remembered the presence of his arm resting somewhere behind her. Friendly, almost. "You were great too," she added quietly, lifting her honey eyes to meet his.

He stared back at her, his pupils searching her eyes slowly as if looking for something. His bright gray eyes were flecked with a tiny amount of ice blue, and she couldn't believe she had never noticed it before.

They held each other's gaze for a beat too long and Petra felt her heart lurch, her eyelashes fluttering as she looked down out of habit.

"Tch... what did I tell you about staring, Petra..." he sighed, putting his empty teacup down and straightening the stack of papers.

"Mm.. I know..." she mumbled tiredly. "By the way, I sit up here almost every night before bed... so if you ever need help with papers, I'd be more than happy to assist."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer," he said, rubbing the space between his brows tiredly with his thumb and pointer finger. "I fucking hate these papers. They're a nightmare."

He stood up, his dark undercut framing his sunken features, which looked softened in the dim candlelight. He didn't look nearly as scary when he was dead tired. He looked smaller, more vulnerable, like he could use a hug, though she wouldn't dare. It was a cute look on him though, she thought.

"Just don't touch my hair again," he added, looking unamused.

Oh shit... had she really done that last night? She thought that was part of her dream or something... she had been so dead freaking tired... how damn embarrassing...

She quickly blew out the candle to hopefully hide her blush.

"Yes, captain," she said evenly.

"And one more thing." He stopped by the door. "Don't ever talk about my friends again."

He left, not waiting to hear her response. The honey haired girl was left gaping in the darkness, confused on how to feel about their latest interaction.

Well… at least he feels comfortable enough to have a normal conversation with me… casually… it's a start, I suppose.

Levi hadn't had friends in years - and Petra had a pretty good guess that was because he shut himself off to those possibilities. She didn't know all the details of it, but she did know his only friends had died and it had twisted a knife in his heart. He didn't want friends because he couldn't bear losing them.

He needed a friend though; she could see that now. And she wanted to be that for him. The friend who helped shoulder his burdens, who listened to his stories, his musings, his sarcastic jokes which she secretly found funny.

He acted like a larger-than-life figure to those around him - a hero, aloof and alert. But at the end of the day, when all was said and done, he was really just a man. Beneath the layers of cynicism and sarcasm was somebody who didn't deserve to face the world alone.

It would take time, but already she felt the foundations beginning to take root. Even if it meant painstakingly chipping away at the walls he'd spent years putting up, she was determined to get through to him. She would destroy the walls and build something beautiful from the rubble; slowly and surely; bit by bit and stitch by stitch.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**This story has become addicting to write heheh. Expect more soon~**


	6. Friends

The paperwork became a routine between the two of them for the next week.

Sometimes they would have their casual conversations after they finished as they sipped relaxing tea. Other times, when there was more to be done, they would work in silence until exhaustion dragged them to their beds for the night.

Levi truthfully enjoyed the company. The work was a lot less stressful when he didn't have to face it alone. And Petra was very cooperative, smart, and easy to talk to. He found himself even trying to rush through the work quickly just to be able to lean back and converse with her. He could let his guard down, late at night in the dim candlelight, and for once in his life _relax_.

They talked about anything, everything, and nothing. It didn't matter to Levi; her voice was soft and pleasant enough to make anything coming out of her mouth sound good. He learned that she was really good at math, and that she liked to ride her horse through courses she set up during her free time - which resulted in some of her more interesting scars and bruises. She was more sure of herself around him now, able to make jokes and laugh quietly.

One night she stumbled in late, still in her uniform instead of her normal PJs.

"Sorry, captain, I took a short nap that turned out to be pretty long... and in my uniform too..." she said groggily, taking her seat next to him and leaning back. She ran a hand through her silky hair, like she always did when she was really sleepy.

"You don't have to help me every night. If you're tired you should sleep," Levi suggested, resisting the urge to straighten out her crumpled uniform. He didn't want her to feel as if this was an obligation.

"I want to, though," she rubbed her eyes again and then smiled kindly. "See? I'm good as new!" She flashed a wide grin.

"Whatever you say, Petra," he said lightly as he slid over some papers to her. She looked a bit more alert now. "But don't push yourself if you get too tired."

"Don't worry, captain," she piped.

It was just then that he realized something that had been bothering him for the past few days.

"Didn't I tell you? You needn't be so formal with me. We're off duty."

"Captain?"

"No, I'm not your captain right now. I'm your captain from dawn to dusk. Right now, we're not superior and subordinate, we're just..." he paused, unsure how to finish that thought. What exactly were they?

"Friends," Petra offered cheerfully. He glanced sideways at her, meeting her warm, friendly gaze.

"... friends..." he agreed quietly, feeling somehow lighter. The word was foreign in his mouth, but it felt good to say. As they turned their attention back to their tasks, Levi felt warmer than before.

_Bad fucking idea,_ his mind told him, recalling how things always turned out when he got attached to something or someone. But fuck it all, he was already in too deep: he wasn't going to ruin the only good thing in his life; not now, for he hadn't the strength to resist her anymore. Even with just one real friend, the world suddenly seemed a lot less shitty.

The papers were a breeze that day and the time that normally dragged on and on went by in the blink of an eye.

"Here you go... Levi..." the honey-haired girl said softly as she handed him a cup of tea.

It felt good to hear her say his name intentionally; not by accident and not preceded by 'captain.' He accepted the drink and tugged at his cravat to loosen it, but accidentally undid it in the process.

"Ugh..." he remarked, annoyed but feeling too lazy to redo it. Instead he just leaned back and stretched his left arm around the couch as he always did, his collar feeling oddly exposed. It was too late for him to really give a shit.

"Hey Levi, why do you wear the cravat?" Petra asked, eyes roaming the cloth hanging around his pale neck.

Great... first the teacup question, now the cravat question. Her curiosity wasn't unusual, but it was unusual that he always felt the urge to answer the questions for her when he never answered them for anyone else. Somehow he didn't find it amusing to be difficult with her the way he was difficult with others. He supposed she had a way with him, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Levi inwardly groaned. "It sets me apart from others," he explained. "When I was first dragged into the scouting legion, I obviously didn't want to be here or wear these uniforms. There was no way to alter it except to wear something extra... a tie would have looked stupid, so I wore a cravat. It was like… my symbol of rebellion or some shit. That I wouldn't conform perfectly to their standards. I don't really know. But these days, I just wear it because I can."

"You, a rebel?" She giggled. "I never would have guessed… you are so compliant with commands."

"I am, now. I trust Erwin. But back then, I didn't like to submit. And I had this idea in my head about becoming some rich wall Sina noble. It was another reason I wore this shit," he pulled the untied cravat out from around his neck, "because I thought I would be more respected if people thought I was some rich-ass instead of what I really was… underground scum."

"So it's true? The rumors I've heard… about how you were a criminal before joining the scouts?"

Levi froze, his attention shifting from the cravat on his lap to the girl beside him.

"Yes… it's true. I grew up stealing, smuggling, and occasionally killing. It was the way I survived in that hell hole. I was a real piece of shit, Petra. I still am, in many ways," he said nonchalantly.

"You're not, Levi! A piece of shit, I mean. At least, I don't think you are," her soft voice said kindly. "I bet… you only did what you were taught… what you had to do…"

"You'd do well not to overestimate me," he stated heavily, brow low over darkened gray eyes. He wasn't lying; if that innocent girl knew what was good for her, she'd stay the hell away from him. His past was fucked up, and his present was only slightly less fucked up. Circumstance had blessed him with more than a few shitty qualities.

Her only response was to turn her lips up to a small smile and take a long sip of tea.

_The hell? Does nothing faze her? _he thought.

"Oi Petra, why do you hang out with an older man like me anyway? I'm twice your damn age."

"That's not true!" She exclaimed almost too quickly. "You're only, like, umm-"

"Thirty-one."

"Ohh…" he could see in her face that she likely pictured him as slightly younger, and he suppressed the urge to smirk. "Well I'm-"

"Nineteen. I know."

"That's not what I was going to say! I meant, I'm indifferent! It doesn't matter how old you are, as long as you're you~... does that make sense?"

"Sure. Whatever you say."

She scooted back in the seat slightly, relaxing more and almost, without realizing it, resting against Levi's arm on the cushion behind her. Levi noticed, though, and frowned, wondering if he should move his arm. He was all for creeping out recruits, but Petra was his hand-picked subordinate and deserved a little more consideration.

"Really, though, I bet your boyfriend would be pissed if he found out you're hanging around with some grown-ass man late at-"

"No! Um, he wouldn't, well, you see, because I don't have a boyfriend…" she interrupted, looking flustered all of a sudden.

"Oh. Me neither," Levi joked dryly.

She laughed nervously at his joke. Their tea was finished by now, but he was waiting for her to get up first. He wasn't tired himself; not tonight. He'd rather sit awake on a couch with her than sit wide awake on his bed, unable to sleep and alone.

"How's your hand?" Levi asked, trying to dispel whatever weird awkwardness had come over her. He never understood why she randomly got flustered over little things.

"I-It's good! Only a scar now," she explained, showing him her palm. "See?"

Levi grabbed it with his free hand and held it closer, squinting at the crooked scar. It had healed well, and her hand was back to normal now, slender and soft…

_How are they so damn soft…. she's a soldier for god's sake…_ he wondered.

"Ehh?" Petra blushed. "W-What was that you said?"

He realized with a start that he must have accidentally muttered his thought aloud, judging by her expression. So much for not creeping her out. It was her own damn fault for having such impossibly smooth hands.

"Nothing," he deadpanned. He picked up the cravat from his lap and placed it in her hand. "Since you like this thing so much, how about you tie it for me."

"Wha?" She grew more flustered, to Levi's amusement. "You mean… like, around your neck?"

"Yes, genius. Around my neck."

"But.. I don't know how…!"

"Humor me."

Levi kept his eyes on her as she turned the cloth over in her hands, trying to figure out how to start. She scooted closer; he could feel her heat now. Her hands gently tucked the cloth under his shirt collar, and she kept leaning closer to get a better view. Their knees were touching, and their shoulders too; he didn't think she noticed this, but he certainly did. He closed his eyes, feeling her fumble around trying to tie it.

She spoke softly to herself as her hands worked. "Maybe… like this? No, no that's so wrong… hmmm… or is it this way...? No, that's not it either…"

He opened his eyes and stared at her, and noticed how she was slightly sticking her tongue out between her teeth in concentration. Suddenly impatient with her fretting, he slapped her hand, causing her to recoil off him.

"Ow! Levi!"

He detangled the cravat and pulled it off his neck.

"Tch. Let me just show you how."

The candlelight flickered as he straightened the cloth. He gently pushed her hair back, noting that it did indeed feel like silk, and he heard her breath catch at this gesture. Did that mean she liked it? He couldn't tell. He slipped the cravat evenly around her shirt collar and tucked it under.

"Watch my hands. I'll go slow."

It was uncertain to him whether she was actually picking up any of this, but like with the stitches, she watched intently as he tied the cravat on her and he hoped watching it made sense. It was the method of teaching he implemented with their training - learning by demonstration - and she picked up pretty well there, so he guessed it would be similarly easy to teach by example for other things as well, since she was used to it. That was his theory, at least.

When he was done tying it, he tugged at it to straighten it out. It looked funny, his cravat around her neck. Amusing, but not in a bad way. She pulled it off better than Auruo, at least.

"Oh," Petra breathed.

Levi felt her breath on his face - scented sweetly like tea - and realized how close they were. Without noticing he had been leaning in quite a bit to get a good view in the dim light. He lifted his eyes to find hers, their faces less than six inches apart.

_Amber eyes and silk hair_… Levi felt himself being drawn in, as if he wanted to lean even closer. His brow lowered and his lips parted as he disregarded trying to make sense of this moment. Petra was frozen, wide honey eyes focused on his.

His hands were still on either side of the cravat, but he was overcome by an urge to run a hand through silky hair. So he did; very gently, he pushed a hand into her soft hair that framed her face - noting how her breath caught at this again - and ran his hand down.

"Levi…?" She breathed.

He moved a finger under her chin, tipping her head up ever so slightly.

_...What the fuck am I even doing?_

* * *

**Heheh~ let the Rivetra cuteness begin :P  
**

**Just a heads up, the next chapter will continue this scene, only switching to Petra's POV.**

**Please review/fave/follow if you like this story! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Annoyances

It was hard to breathe with her captain's face just inches from hers, and it was even harder to think straight. Petra's mind and heart were alive and racing.

This was _Captain Levi_. Mere inches away from her; smelling of fresh linen and minty tea; his low brows furrowed and icy gray eyes locked on hers. And he had touched her hair, gently trailed his hand down to tilt her chin up with a slender, bony finger.

But this _was_ Captain Levi; known to invade personal space to intimidate others for sport. They were friends now, but perhaps he was still testing her for some reason.

_Yes… that must be it…_

Still, she couldn't help but think unwanted thoughts about his proximity… and about how easy it would be to close the distance between them now… and wondering how his thin lips might feel if she met them against hers…

Oh god, did she really just let her eyes wander down to his lips for a second? She immediately refocused on Levi's penetrating gaze, blushing furiously despite her best efforts, as his brows lowered and creased together ever so slightly.

"Do you understand now?" Levi said calmly.

"I- W-what? Understand what?"

He leaned in closer; only three inches from her now; his dark hair brushing against her forehead. She didn't dare breathe; he was going to figure out her unwarranted affections, if he hadn't already by her blushing, and that would be the end of their friendship.

"This," he stated quietly as she felt him give two quick tugs on the cravat tied around her neck.

"Oh… Oh! Hahah, you mean that!" She exclaimed, her voice giddy in her nervousness. She leaned back, his hands dropping from her chin and collar as she did so. "Yes! Yes, I do understand! It makes sense, Levi, tying the cravat, it does, but oh um it's kind of late hey! I should really go to sleep now!" She babbled.

Levi stared at her, slightly lifting a brow.

_Shoot… he completely thinks I'm weird now. So much for not spazzing out like a recruit._

"Goodnight, Captain Levi!" Petra chirped happily with a too-wide smile, then was quickly out of the room before he could so much as open his mouth.

"Huh. Looks like I scared her the hell away," he muttered to himself. "... maybe she just really needs to take a shit or something."

Petra only stopped once she was outside her bedroom door. She leaned against the stone wall, catching her breath and trying to make sense of what had just happened. What kind of game was he playing with her? She wasn't sure whether to feel annoyed or elated.

_Maybe I should have just freaking kissed him…_

She felt her cheeks grow warmer at the thought, her chest flutter.

_Seriously… when will I ever stop blushing?_

* * *

The expedition was only a few days away. After last week's intense trainings, this week was laid back in comparison. Training sessions were always kept short and light on expedition weeks, so that soldiers were fresh and well-rested when it really mattered.

Petra spent the extra free time writing letters to her family and socializing with others in the legion - particularly the recruits. Like everyone else, she was normally gave them a hard time, but when expeditions got closer she did her best to befriend them and soothe their anxieties. She was kind, understanding, and reassuring, doing her best to relieve their tensions and mentally prepare them so that they would have a good shot at making it through their first expedition. By Erwin's suggestions she had made this her ritual hobby in the weeks before expeditions - she liked to think it was another way to contribute towards the greater good of the scouting legion.

It was a welcome distraction that kept her mind off other things… such as her growing feelings for her captain.

Her heart fluttered when she recalled their little moment last night. It had felt so damn good to be that close to him.

She shook her head at the unwelcomed thoughts and lengthened her stride to catch up with the blonde-haired, tall recruit that just passed by.

"Louie!" She called, matching his pace next to him.

"Oh, hi Petra," he said with a sheepish smile.

"How are you holding up?"

"Ah well, I'm okay I suppose…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, Corporal Levi seemed pretty pissed at me this morning actually, apparently I didn't do a very good job cleaning out the second floor common room and he's making me redo it… in addition to extra chores," he grimaced.

Petra sighed internally. Levi was such a hard-ass about cleaning duties, and for new members who weren't used to it, it was really stressful. She'd been in that position once too…

"Don't worry, I'll help you out! We don't have training until late in the afternoon," Petra said cheerfully. She hadn't gotten to talk to Louie as much as the other new soldiers, so it was her chance to check up on how he was doing.

"You're an angel," he remarked, patting her on the back. "Marie offered to help me too, I hope you don't mind working with her."

Petra suppressed the urge to groan. Marie was also a new soldier, but one that Petra had made a habit of avoiding. She had tried to befriend her, but the girl was incredibly shallow and also kind of mean. She had some weird fixation with Erwin. But Petra couldn't just make her distaste known; not with an expedition coming up so soon.

"That's fine by me," she lied.

They worked first in the common room, tidying up the clutter and sweeping the floors. Louie was a skilled soldier; he'd been ranked 8th in his class, but he was prone to getting nervous. They discussed maneuvers, which seemed to calm him down, and Petra told a few stories of how many times teamwork had saved her life against titans, and the lives of others. He had to learn to trust his comrades; to have faith in them - it was a value she tried to instill in all rookies, because absolute trust was essential in missions.

About halfway through their cleaning effort, Louie's friend Marie walked in and Petra had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Louieee~ you'll never guess what happened!" The peppy brunette squealed.

"Yeah?" He said, giving her a shy smile.

"Heheh... Erwin personally reassigned me to a different squad!"

"Uhhh... Why's that?"

"Because he cares about me! Remember that one time I had a conversation with him? I'm telling you, I made an impression," she fluttered her eyelashes.

Louie chuckled. He seemed to find her antics a bit ridiculous at times too.

"Well anyways, he dismissed everyone and he looked like he was about to talk to me more, but then GUESS WHO SHOWED UP!"

She paused, waiting for Louie to ask her. Finally, he reluctantly gave in.

"...who?..."

"Corporal-freaking-Levi, UGH!"

Petra smirked at this; Levi had put the bratty recruit in her place more than once, and the girl greatly resented it. Still, she was undoubtedly intimidated by the legion's elite captain, and grudgingly respected his authority.

"So he walks up to us with his bored, dead-ass face, and mutters something to Erwin, gives me a quick 'so unimpressed' glance, and walks off, then Erwin follows him without another word."

"How rude," Louie muttered absently as he sweeped the floor.

"I know right! I don't care how strong he is, there's no excuse for his shitty personality."

Now Petra was getting annoyed; genuinely insulting Levi in her presence was more than she could tolerate. True, he was brash, but he was her captain, her friend, and a good man - he did _not_ have a shitty personality. Just as she was about to speak up, the peppy recruit noticed her presence.

"Oh. Hi Petra." She looked the elite soldier up and down, as if scrutinizing her outfit.

_It's the damn scouting legion uniform, you idiot,_ Petra thought.

"Hi Marie," Petra said with a mocking smile. "You know, Erwin just stopped by a few minutes ago looking for you. You should go to his office and knock," she suggested.

In truth, she had overheard from Levi that the commander would be away attending to business for the better part of the afternoon. More likely than not, Levi was using the office in his absence.

"Ohh~ I better go!" Marie said, scampering off. Petra turned her back to hide her smirk. She turned her attention back to dusting and organizing the corner book shelf in silence for a while. It took some time to restock and reorder the books.

Of course... being short was ever a struggle. There were messy, crumpled papers on top of the shelf that she simply couldn't reach.

"Can you help me reach something?" She called to Louie.

No response.

"Eh? A little help here?"

She looked back only to see an empty room. But turning her head back further, she noticed, to her surprise, captain Levi slumped down on the couch.

How had she not noticed the people walking in and out?

"Ahh.. where did Louie go? And when did you get here?"

"You mean the blonde fruitcake? He was following that bratty recruit like a puppy. They interrupted my damn work... so I came here." He said, sounding especially bored. He didn't look to have any intention of doing anymore of the work. Petra had the urge to tell him he should take a quick nap, but she remembered he was still her captain by day… so she decided not to say that.

"Oh.. I just needed help reaching something up in the..." she paused, remembering Levi was only about an inch taller than her. "Ah, nevermind actually..." she trailed off, staring back up at the unreachable trash.

"Tch..." Levi scoffed. She was surprised when he walked up next to her and followed her gaze to the top shelf.

"Captain?"

He stepped in front of her, looped his arms under her waist, pulled her into him... and lifted her up.

"Ah!" She exclaimed, caught off guard.

"Get the trash, Petra," he mumbled, half his face nestled just under her chest.

_Shoot… can he hear my heartbeat? His ear is pressed to my ribcage… he must be able to… Ugh, don't blush now..._

"Y-yes captain." She put an arm around his shoulders to steady herself and reached her other arm up, clutching the crumbled trash.

"Got it!" She announced.

The strong arms around her loosened, gently letting her down safely. And leaving her, yet again, very close to Levi.

"Uhh," Petra breathed lightly, eyes fixated on icy gray orbs. Levi's hands remained firmly on her waist, and her arm was still rested around his neck, but for some reason she didn't dare to move it. Her other hand hung at her side, clutching the trash awkwardly.

Levi leaned in closer, three inches - no, less; his forehead brushed hers - was this it? Breathing shallow, Petra closed her eyes and parted her lips in anticipation, taking in his intoxicating scent, his minty breath on her.

Instead, she felt his cheek brush hers as he moved; his lips now hovering by her ear.

"You're welcome," he said in a low, quiet voice. It was an odd tone on him; deeper than usual… sexier… a chill ran up her spine and she did her best not to show it.

What was going on? Was he… teasing her? Did he realize he was driving her crazy?

Feeling incredibly bold, and somewhat daring, she took a step forward so that their bodies were once again pressed to each other; noting with satisfaction how his breath hitched at the unexpected advance.

Pocketing the trash, she threw her other arm around his neck as well and clutched him tighter, resting her head against his. It was only a hug - she had given thousands of them - but this one was the only one that felt utterly perfect. Their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces.

And now it was her turn to tease. "Why thank you, Levi," she breathed into his ear, and to her relief he tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as well.

"Pet-"

"Aye PETRA! I'm coming back! Sorry for going!" Louie's voice rang down the hallway, fast approaching the common room entrance.

"Fu-… damn candy-ass rookie," Levi muttered, his arms dropping from Petra's waist as he took a step back. She unwound her arms quickly from his neck, and also took a few steps back, mourning the cold feeling in contrast to where his warm body had just been against hers.

The tall blonde recruit strolled in, oblivious to their exchange.

"Oi fruitcake, Petra's too damn good for you. This room better be fucking spotless, or you're going to be my squad's hand-to-hand combat dummy next week," Levi said coldly, shoving a broomstick at Louie on his way out. Petra shrugged at the stricken-looking recruit and nonchalantly turned back to her work.

* * *

That night, Levi was almost falling asleep over his work.

"I'm not that damn tired," he tried to tell Petra, but the bags underneath his eyes betrayed him. She knew him better than that.

She didn't press him on the subject though; and he didn't object when she slid the remaining papers he was working on over to her side of the table. He only gave her a quick glance, then leaned back, resting his arm around the couch and crossing his legs like he always did.

It felt like he was watching her as she worked quickly on the last few papers, but she didn't dare look back to see if she was right. Only after she forged Levi's signature on the last document, looping the letters just like he'd taught her to, did she chance a look at him.

His eyes were shut; face relaxed.

_Oh... he fell asleep.._

She scooted back, leaning onto the couch cushion. The force of her back hitting the cushion made Levi's arm slip, falling onto her shoulders. Petra abruptly flinched; her eyes darting to short man's face. Thankfully he was still asleep; she let out a breath of relief.

Then she let it sink in… Levi's arm, around her shoulders. It was something so simple that felt so damn nice, although he was sleeping and unaware of it, which she couldn't decide whether that was a good or bad thing. She let herself relax into it, positioning herself closer to him so their legs almost touched… almost.

"Oi…"

Petra's head snapped up, meeting Levi's sidelong glance from half-lidded eyes. She wasn't going to freak out and run away this time; she would not.

"Hi… I finished, Levi. You can go back to sleep if you want…"

"... closer…" he mumbled, closing his eyes again.

"Huh?"

"Get closer," he flexed his arm and pulled her in to lean against his chest. In response she closed the remaining distance between their legs and leaned her head in the pit of his shoulder; between his bony collar bone and the base of his neck, her cheek brushing his still-tied cravat.

"Better?"

"...better…" he agreed, lightly resting his head on hers.

He seemed so comfortable, and listening to his calm, rhythmic breathing, Petra felt comfortable too. Perhaps this was a fluke, or a dream, but his arm around her and her head nuzzled against him felt perfect; natural, like two pieces of a puzzle finally fitting together.

She laced her fingers with his, subconsciously, as if by instinct. It just felt like the right thing to do. He was probably sleeping again by now - but not deeply. If she got up, she would wake him.

_Perhaps I can stay for a little while… a small nap couldn't hurt,_ she thought as she closed her eyes to the dim candlelight, finally giving in to exhaustion.

* * *

**Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating in a while; I've been very busy with school. I'll try to update once a week if I can.**

**So heheh... your face when they didn't kiss - D:**

**Blame Petra, not me! I'm sure you all won't be disappointed by the next chapter though, so stay tuned!**

**Thanks for reading, and thank you for all the reviews/faves/follows, keep em coming if you like this story!**


	8. Unraveled

_Voices._

There were voices all around Levi, but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying; not yet. He strained to hear.

"Should we wake him up…? Or…?"

"I am _not _touching him! If you wanna get your ass handed to you then go ahead!"

"Guys, leave Corporal Levi alone! Can't you see he's tired?"

_Petra?_

"Ha! Levi's sleeping? I have an interesting hypothesis, that if we throw something at him-"

_Ugh. Hanji._

"What?" Several voices called out.

"Ahem… If we throw something at him, then blame Petra, he won't do anything about it~"

"Ehh! Guys!"

_So damn annoying. _

"Fuck off. All of you." Levi growled without opening his eyes.

He heard a few shushed "Oh shit"s and a scrambling of feet as what sounded like a crowd dispersed and quietly shuffled out. When he opened his eyes a few minutes later, the room was vacant save for his squad, quietly conversing in the opposite corner of the room.

Gunther and Erd seemed to be debating something trivial, while Auruo and Petra were reclined back on the corner couch. Auruo was imitating Levi's usual stance of crossing his legs and arms, but then switched to another imitation, swinging his arm around the back of the couch - but intentionally landing on Petra's shoulders. He leaned over and muttered something indiscernible to her.

Petra scowled at him and removed his arm, and as they bickered Levi recalled the strange dream he'd had last night… where the strawberry-blonde girl was resting underneath his arm, snuggled against his chest; breathing lightly, her hair smelling like honey… and feeling the nice, pleasant warmth of her body against his.

What the actual hell had that been about? Urgh, it wasn't like him to crave the presence of random female subordinates…

He huffed, about to stand up when something caught his eye. A single, long strand of hair on his shoulder; he picked it up gingerly, scrutinizing the amber strand.

_Well shit… perhaps it hadn't been a dream after all._ He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. She must have left before anyone saw them together; that much was certain, thankfully.

Levi dropped the strand, regaining his apathetic composure and getting up. He'd fallen asleep in his clothes, which was rather gross when he thought about it, so he was itching to get out of them and into clean ones.

"Captain!" Erd called from across the room, saluting as he approached. "We've been awaiting your orders, sir. What will you have us do today?"

Levi blinked, still rather groggy. "Nothing. The expedition is tomorrow. Rest, conserve your energy, and don't do anything stupid with your time off."

He made the mistake of making eye contact with Petra from across the room. He inhaled sharply as he felt her honey eyes thawing his icy composure, his mouth stupidly agape for a moment as he took in how damn cute she looked out of nowhere. And what was that peculiar look in her eyes?

_Has she always looked at me that way? And why the hell does she have this effect on me? Ugh…_

Hoping that nobody noticed his momentary lapse, Levi tore his gaze away from Petra and sulked out of the common room. He wasn't feeling like himself today; that was probably just it. After a long shower and some cleaning of his room, the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach would fade.

The feeling didn't fade, however, and continued to nag him even as he sat in the supply room later, routinely inspecting his equipment. He had noticed a loose screw the other day during training and needed to tighten it before the expedition so it wouldn't become a problem. But instead of titans and strategy, all he could think about was candlelight and honey hair as he repaired his gear.

Levi grimaced and decided to go find Hanji. As annoying as she could be sometimes, she had a better grasp on understanding human relationships than Levi did.

"Moblit! Fetch me my notebook and- oh. You're not Moblit," Hanji huffed, looking Levi over as he stood by the door of her office. There were several desks with various papers strewn about in messy clusters; organized chaos, as Hanji called it, but to Levi it just looked like a plain mess.

"May I ask you something?" Levi said, fighting the urge to scowl at the mess. He couldn't be completely rude if he wanted her honest opinion.

"Go for it, champ," she said absently while flipping through one of her notebooks.

"When two people are… friends… hypothetically, is it acceptable for them to lean on each other? As friends?"

"Ehh? What kind of question is that?" Hanji peered up from under her glasses.

"Some damn recruits…" he muttered. While being involved with a comrade wasn't strictly against the scouting legion rules, it was often discouraged; more likely than not the individuals were re-assigned to separate squads so their feelings wouldn't cloud their judgment during expeditions. Levi could easily pretend this was the case for his question… Hanji would give an honest answer if she believed he was only asking to figure out what should be done between two potentially involved recruits.

"Hmmm. I'd have to say that's rather borderline. Based on my observations of human behavior, it could go either way."

"So…?"

Hanji sighed. "I'd say if they're just leaning on each other every once in a while it's most likely just a friendship thing. If we re-assigned every pair of friends who leaned on each other from time to time, we'd be up to our eyeballs with transfer papers."

"I see," Levi said, silently letting out a breath of relief as he turned away. What he had with Petra - and what they'd done - was still within the realms of friendship. Perfectly normal. And he was determined to keep it that way; he had strange feelings about letting things progress any further, and he didn't want such things to impair his judgment. Having a friend was nice, and surely she felt the same way - after all, she was still a teenager and he was far older, so it wouldn't make sense any other way. And as friends, it was normal to let her lean on him; that small piece of comfort was all he really needed anyway.

So that night, even though there were no more papers left to fill out, he sat up in the common room reading the newspaper and scowling at the headlines. The tension around headquarters was uncomfortable, especially due to the unusually high volume of new recruits who had yet to experience an expedition. Being alone was quite a relief, whether the honey-haired girl showed up or not.

The whiskey was also helping him relax - _though perhaps I should slow down, _he thought, blinking in a sudden daze.

"Levi?"

_Ah… so she did come._

Levi nodded towards Petra, setting the whiskey down and hoping he didn't smell too much like alcohol.

"I had a feeling you'd be here," she said softly, running her hand back through her hair like she always did when she was tired. She took her seat next to him, tugging at her uniform to straighten it out. She appeared to be a bit strung up.

"I drank a little from my stash too," Petra admitted, gesturing towards the glass of whiskey.

"Christ, girl," he growled, suddenly annoyed. "You can't be hungover for the damn mission. You told me you wouldn't act stupid. That night on the street with your fucking candle, _you promised me_."

He mentally kicked himself, wondering where that snappy remark came from; that was a really damn offensive thing to say, and he was a really damn shitty friend. But the look of shock on her face wore off after a split second, and she only shook her head.

"I don't remember promising anything but… I didn't have much, Levi. Just a shot. Just like you. I think we both need to just… relax tonight," she bit her lip, not meeting his gaze. "And about last night…"

"You can lean on me. It's fine," Levi assured, casually resting his arm around her shoulders. He was relieved that she overlooked his brash rudeness… why did he have such a hard time being nice? She was right… they both needed to relax. "We're… friends…" he muttered, closing his eyes as she closed the distance between their bodies.

"... friends…" she whispered back, nuzzling her head on his shoulder. She seemed to crave the warmth as much as he.

"Oh! I just remembered something!" She shot up after a minute.

Levi groaned, not budging. "What is it?" _Damn girl… Didn't she just say we should both relax?_

"There's a lunar eclipse tonight! I wanted to show you!"

"A what? What the hell are you talking about?" He grumbled, cracking an eye open to look at her radiant, beaming face. She seemed awfully excited for someone trying to relax.

"A lunar eclipse! Don't be silly, you must have seen one before! They're strangely beautiful in the night sky, a real sight," Petra exclaimed, standing up.

Levi glanced up at her. "I only got to see the night sky a handful of times for twenty-six years of my life, Petra. You act like I'm supposed to know these things," he scowled, truthfully feeling a bit insecure about the fact that he didn't know. His shitty upbringing always seemed to find ways to haunt him in the present.

She showed no pity however - only an optimistic smile as she tugged at his hand. "Always a first for everything then, right?"

"Sure," he deadpanned, allowing himself to be led out of the room by the peppy girl. The alcohol sure made her bold; it wasn't bad, just different, and funny in a way. The captain being dragged around by his younger, smaller, female subordinate.

After quietly ascending a few flights of stairs, Petra huffed in dismay upon finding the door to the roof locked.

"Ugh! Damn thing is never locked, until today," she complained, rattling the door in frustration.

"Bloody hell Petra, calm down… there are other ways up," Levi said, this time taking her hand and leading. After a short walk through some of the narrower, more obscure passages of the fourth floor, they came to an open window. The stone around was weathered and worn, but the opening was big enough to fit through.

Levi vaulted casually through the opening, dropping down to a small balcony below; and hearing, to his amusement, a gasp from Petra.

"Oi, I'm not actually suicidal," he called as her bewildered face peered out the window, then registered the balcony just below. It was still a bit of a drop, but she handled it gracefully.

"Of course," she breathed, landing next to him.

Levi leaned back against the stone wall, crossing his arms and glancing up at the mostly clear night sky. The stars never ceased to amaze him when he actually took the time to stop and observe them - which wasn't often in his busy life. But it was because of this that he was breath taken by view, and by the sheer magnitude of the night sky. Generations lived and died all while the stars barely blinked. The universe cared nothing of humanity and titans and ugly deaths. It was overwhelmingly to think about, and honestly a bit depressing.

"The moon is that way," Petra pointed, leaning next to Levi. The partial moon was blood-red, in stark contrast with the pale stars. Levi blinked, puzzled by the sight.

"You see, when the Earth lines up directly in between the moon and the sun… the moon burns red. I'm not exactly sure why though, but probably Hanji would know," Petra explained. "It will get fuller too! If you watch for a few more minutes, it will be a full red moon. It's really quite odd."

They watched quietly for another minute until a cloud rolled in and obscured the view.

"Ahh, stupid cloud," Petra groaned in dismay, slumping down to sit against the wall.

"Yeah, I guess clouds are some really shitty brats sometimes," Levi said, to which Petra giggled. He took a seat on the tattered crate next to her and rubbed her head affectionately. "And only you would ever find my shitty jokes funny," he sighed. He barely found them funny himself; Petra really amazed him at times. She reminded him of Isabel, his dead friend, in some ways… but their friendship was different; he could never consider Petra like a sister.

"Shoot, I should have sat there instead," she mumbled, eyeing the crate. It was probably more comfortable than the ground.

"You can sit here if you want," Levi said absently, gazing up at the patch of sky that wasn't obscured by clouds.

"Thanks," she got up. "Err are you gonna.. umm… scoot over?"

"No space to. You're light; just sit on me. I don't really care."

"Ehh?! On your lap?"

"Like this," Levi deadpanned, exasperated, pulling her waist and sitting her gently sideways on his right leg. Her breath caught and she tensed.

"Friends do this, Petra," he lied. This was probably traversing beyond the realm of friendship, and he knew it too, but it felt damn nice. Then again, the fact that he enjoyed this made him feel like a creepy old pervert, especially with her tensing up. Maybe he had misinterpreted what she was comfortable with.

"Ahh.. of course," she said, looking down to hide her blush. "It's… nice… as f-friends…"

"Relax. You're making me feel like a damn creep," he scowled, feeling strangely vulnerable to what she thought of him. He loosened his grip around her waist.

"No, it's nice," she said, willing herself to relax. "Beats sitting on the floor," she exhaled, relaxing into him. He met her eyes briefly, finding that same peculiar look in her honey orbs as before, but she quickly looked away, up to the cloud that still obscured the lunar eclipse.

"We're gonna miss the best part," she sighed.

Levi glanced briefly at the cloud as well and decided to change the subject. "Why do you keep alcohol in your room anyway?"

Petra met his gaze again, taken a bit aback by the question.

"Oh… well... ah, I don't like to admit this…"

"It's fine. I'll be your friend, not your captain."

"The alcohol... it helps me drown out the sadness when it becomes too much for me sometimes. Not often… just… sometimes after particularly brutal days, when I can't get the visions of my comrades being slaughtered like sheep out of my mind," She fidgeted, staring down at her palms. "Or... when I remember certain friends that I watched die. Today, it was when I thought of who it might be tomorrow… of all the new recruits who still don't even understand what they've gotten themselves into. Of just how many of them won't be coming back, and how many of them will be watching their friends get eaten. Some days I'm just too overwhelmed to cope with it on my own… I know it must sound kind of pathetic to you…"

"Tch, you might as well pour it all down the drain."

"But… what am I going to do when I feel that way then?"

"When you feel that way, come to me. I'll be all the damn intoxication you need," he said in a low tone. He meant it, too. Drinking to drown out sadness was a slippery slope that he'd seen too many good soldiers fall victim to. He wasn't about to let it happen to Petra; he would do whatever the hell she wanted him to, if that's what it took.

"Levi…" she breathed, wide honey eyes trained on his face. He couldn't meet her innocent gaze; he couldn't look. She was being just too fucking cute and it completely ruined the impassive composure that he had spent all the years of his life building up. It was enough that she said his name like that, in her sweet voice... if he met her eyes now, his cold wall of ice would melt to liquid in an instant.

So instead he glanced down at his cravat, noticing an ugly smudge of dirt that somehow got on it.

"Ugh," Levi groaned, untying it and pulling it off. "Filthy dirt…"

"Oh! That reminds me," Petra began, suddenly fumbling for something inside her uniform jacket, "I was going to give this back to you!" She pulled out the cravat that she had run off with the other day, after he'd shown her how to tie it.

"Don't worry, I washed it for you and everything," she assured, as if reading his thoughts.

"Good. Do you remember how to tie it?"

"I-I think so…"

"Go on, then," Levi said boredly, gazing blankly ahead with half-lidded eyes. He was determined to keep up his demeanor; he may be Petra's friend, but he was still fucking _Lance Corporal Levi_, and he would not allow himself to be undone; not even by the impossibly cute girl on his lap.

It was a bit like deja vu, though he couldn't help but notice her hands trembled slightly. Despite this, her movements were more sure as she began, tucking the cloth underneath his collar.

"Levi… ahh.. did you really mean that?"

"Mean what."

"When you said… if I feel that way…I could, you know, come to you and..."

"I meant it."

"D-do you understand… how I feel…?"

"You explained it. It's not that unusual for soldiers to despair. You're only human."

"No I mean umm," she tugged at the cravat, straightening it out, perfectly tied. "How I f-feel about… ah... my feelings f-for... umm..."

"What? Spit it out already," Levi said impatiently, now genuinely confused. _What the bloody hell is she going on about?_

"Levi… I…"

There it was again; the eyes that could melt him. But this time he made the grave mistake of meeting them with his; his heart lurched and the irritated words he meant to say got caught in his throat. Then he felt her give a sharp tug on his cravat, sending him forward and…

Into Petra's lips. It took him a second to register it. Petra was kissing him, her eyes squeezed shut and soft lips locked onto his.

_Fuck, this feels good,_ he thought, not even bothering to resist. Friends _definitely_ didn't kiss each other like this, but fuck that. He closed his eyes and pulled her closer, kissing back forcefully.

"Ah," she breathed, breaking their kiss momentarily to re-adjust herself. She placed her knees on either side of the crate, facing him as she straddled his lap. He took the opportunity to wind his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly into him.

"Damn you, Petra, catching me off-guard like that," he growled, his usual scowl gracing his features. She whimpered adorably, biting a trembling lip apologetically. "I'm not gonna let you off easy," he breathed an inch from her lips, voice husky with desire. He could hardly believe the low, thick voice was his, but all he knew is that right now he wanted her, no, _needed her_, so he crashed his lips on hers.

It felt damn near perfect when she ran her hands through his hair and pressed her waist onto his. Her lips were passionate and just as hungry as his; she responded likewise when he slipped his tongue in, and they continued to heatedly make out for a few minutes.

Petra finally relented, pulling back and gasping for air as Levi grunted and moved down to her neck, nibbling the soft, smooth flesh.

"Ah," she moaned, panting. "Levi, p-please… give me a… m-moment," she stammered.

Levi pulled back, taking in her flushed face and dazed, half-lidded eyes. Her lip quivered; in fact, she was trembling all over, he just noticed.

"Why are you shaking so bad? Do I make you that nervous?"

"Ehh? Who's s-shaking?"

Levi reached behind his neck and picked up one of her trembling hands, holding it out in front of her eyes for her to see. The same hand he'd stitched up all those weeks ago, now trembling before the both of them.

"Mmm," she chewed her lip harder, creased her brows in evident embarrassment, and then she buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, as if trying to hide.

_You're too fucking cute, _he thought for perhaps the hundredth time that night. He sighed and moved her hand to rest over his chest; over his own frantic, hammering heartbeat. He closed his eyes and pressed her hand there, still panting slightly to catch his breath.

"It's not just you, Petra… tch..." he muttered into her shoulder, scowling out of pure habit but feeling completely vulnerable now. If this was her plan to completely undo him, it was fucking working - he could feel himself unraveling at the seams every moment she stayed on his lap, flush against him, buried in his shoulder and listening to his rapid heart.

"And that damn cloud still hasn't moved," he chuckled dryly, knowing that was probably the least of their worries right now.

* * *

**Hi, Hope you all liked this chapter heheh, was fun to write :P**

**Just like before, this is cut-off mid scene because it will be continued from Petra's POV! Stay tuned~**

**Please drop a fave/follow/review if you are enjoying this story! :D**


	9. Open wounds

Was this really happening?

Levi's heart was racing beneath her shaky fingertips, his hand holding hers in place as he breathed in hitches. Petra's own heart felt ready to burst.

One kiss had sealed her fate. Her affections for her captain were more than just affections now - she was falling fast; fast and hard. His proximity was intoxicating; his pine scent, his warm body, his deep voice that sent chills down her spine.

In other words, him.

_Get a grip_… she thought. Not even titans made her nervous and shaky like this. She was not a timid, shy, fragile little girl - she was fierce, goddammit. How was it that Levi could always shatter that with a single touch? And yet… it felt so good… and as she leveled her breathing and regained confidence, she remembered how strong Levi made her feel, too. With him by her side… together, they were unstoppable.

Her hand absently scratched the fuzzy lower part of his undercut, which earned a low hiss from him.

"I thought I told you not to touch my damn hair," Levi muttered, snaking his arms around her waist and again nibbling on her neck. She instinctively gasped, eyelashes fluttering and breath catching. The sensation was overwhelming, making her weak in the hands and knees all over again.

"You also told me you're not my captain when we're off duty… so I don't have to listen to you," she teased, winding her hands into the soft raven strands. He grunted, his soft nibbles becoming rougher and turning into bites down her neck.

"Ow! Stop, please."

Levi huffed, reluctantly pulling back. He looked unamused.

"Well what the hell do you want from me?"

"I… ahh… I just want to kiss you…"

"Then kiss me. Not like I can really go anywhere." He was pinned up against a corner with her on top, after all.

She took his statement the wrong way.

"Ah! I'm sorry," Petra exclaimed, unwinding herself from him and standing up. The clouds were getting increasingly darker, so she couldn't read Levi's expression in the darkness, but she immediately missed his warmth.

"You're sorry?" Levi said in a low voice, standing up and grabbing her waist. Petra winced a little, remembering that Levi hated when people threw around that word. Oops.

"You should be sorry, little girl," he growled, pulling her closer. "You and your damned cuteness, you just couldn't keep to yourself, could you?"

"Levi, I-"

He didn't wait for her to finish that thought - he cut her off with his lips. A thrill pulsed through Petra's veins as she responded, moving her mouth in sync with his, still a bit shaky but more confident now. It felt better than she had ever imagined.

The bliss was short lived, however.

"Rain," Levi mumbled against her lips, breaking apart and glancing up briefly. "I hate rain," he growled.

Petra looked up as well, her lips parted in surprise at the sudden rain. The droplets rolled off her cheeks. She probably wouldn't have noticed for a while had he not brought it up; she had been so intoxicated by his lips. She frowned too, not hating rain but hating the fact that it had to intrude on their moment and pull Levi away from her.

"Let's get inside. Wet clothes feel disgusting," Levi said, smoothly jumping up to the window ledge. Petra followed, climbing in just as the rain was becoming a torrential downpour.

Levi seemed pensive as he glanced out at the rain, and Petra couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. Even in the faint moonlight it wasn't hard to see the bags under his eyes and the weary mask he wore.

It was hard to see him like that. She cared for him. Carefully, she grabbed his hand and made to interlace their fingers.

"We have an expedition tomorrow. I expect you and the others to be up and ready tomorrow morning, in your best form," Levi said, his voice laced with a familiar authority, gently tearing his hand away from hers while keeping his gaze fixed forward. He sounded different than moments before - incredibly distant; her captain through and through, no longer her friend.

Without sparing her a glance, Levi turned to leave.

"Get a good night's rest, Petra. That's an order."

"Levi…" she said softly, into the air. He was gone already, leaving only confusion in his wake.

_But how can he just kiss me like that… and then become cold as ice moments later? Ugh…_. she lamented, casting another mournful glance outside before turning her back on the window.

She must have hit a wall - perhaps she'd gone too far, she worried, chewing her bottom lip. Friends or not, he was still her captain at the end of the day, and she his subordinate; that would never change, and it would always lurk beneath the surface of any interaction. Kissing her superior was crossing a definite border.

Although her heart ached with longing, she knew Levi was right. The mission came first. It was important for her and the squad's survival that she be well rested.

So Petra forced the persistent thoughts of her captain out of her head and slept.

* * *

Morning came sooner than she would have liked.

Expedition days were always utterly hectic as last minute preparations were made. A lot of squads also had ritual pep-talks from their leaders, but of course the Special Ops squad didn't get any of that from Levi. Not that they needed it.

"Don't get yourselves killed," was his only sentiment as the squad stood in the precession atop their mounts, waiting for the gate to open.

Petra was positioned behind him to his right. She couldn't stop staring at his shoulders; there was nothing better to look at while they waited anyways. For some reason she was always drawn to his shoulders. They were broader than hers, but not by much. He just looked so damn good from behind.

Petra blinked, averting her eyes finally and shaking off the thoughts. A lot had happened last night, but she had to set all those memories and feelings aside for the day.

A light mist from last night's rain permeated the air. The day was damp and cloudy, but not rainy quite yet. Rain would be a bad sign, Petra knew, as signal flares didn't work in the rain but titans still did.

The reason Levi hates rain probably has something to do with that, she thought.

Finally the dull roar of the gate being lifted echoed through the Trost district.

"Let the 53rd Recon mission commence!" Commander Erwin shouted. The survey corps cheered, and the steady beat of galloping hooves began.

The mission objective was clear: extend the supply route another few miles towards Shiganshina.

Trudging through mud slowed the entire formation down to an almost sluggish pace.

"Disgusting," Levi mumbled as the mud picked up by hooves continued to splatter across his boots. His squad was positioned in the middle second row, but was to take the front soon. Their objective was to establish the supply route up to a giant abandoned city, and the plan relied on elite soldiers spearheading the formation to clear away nearby titans while the base was set up.

At the end of the day, the mission was a great success; only a handful of soldiers perished and a handful more were injured, which was a good record for the survey corps.

It wasn't until the formation was back safely inside wall Rose that Petra noticed Levi's injury.

"Good work today. You're dismissed," Levi said to his team upon returning to headquarters. It was dusk now, with night falling fast.

"Sir!" They saluted in unison, thankful to their captain for seeing them through another successful mission.

"Ral, come with me," he said, turning his back and walking away. Petra followed and waved to her weary teammates as they dispersed, Gunther looking particularly exhausted and Auruo looking cocky but also tired. Erd gave a peculiar glance to Levi, which was not missed by Petra, before following the other two out.

She trailed quietly behind him, noticing how his shoulders sagged more than this morning. They always betrayed his weariness after expeditions; the weariness that was incredibly plain in any other soldier, but that Levi showed almost no trace of. Almost. But Petra knew him; and she noticed the fine details, like the way he held his shoulders. Behind his steely, hardened eyes and impassive composure, Levi was only human too. The thought that he wasn't invincible was both scary and comforting… and oddly endearing, in a way.

"Captain?" Petra spoke softly as they entered his office, breathing in the familiar scent of pine. He closed the door behind her before casually shrugging off his green cloak. That's when Petra saw the front left side of his jacket and shirt was soaked through with blood.

Her eyes widened for a moment and she managed not to gasp.

"Do you remember how to perform stitches? I'm going to need some," he said evenly, shrugging off his soiled jacket to reveal an equally stained white shirt. The deep red was in shocking contrast with the white; the amount of blood that must have gone into it was startling.

"Captain! That's serious... You need medics for that!"

"What I need are properly sterilized tools. The medics don't always sanitize needles between patients in the rush to get things done," he scoffed lightly, removing a first aid kit from his desk. "If you're not comfortable doing it, send for a medic to come to my office."

Petra bit her lip, torn over what to do. Even though there weren't many injuries on the day's expedition, the medics would still be tending to the severe ones diligently. She would hate to drag any away from their job to stitch up Levi when she could probably do it herself… probably.

_He trusts me enough to come to me. I should trust myself as well,_ she decided.

"I'll do my best, captain."

Levi nodded, unbuttoning his shirt and peeling it off. Petra blinked, trying not to blush at the sight of his well-muscled chest and toned arms. The muscles were defined to perfection.

_Holy crap… he is so jacked…_

More pressing, however, was the long vertical gash trailing from his left collar bone to his armpit. Dry blood caked much of his left side, and although the wound wasn't pouring blood it did still look to be bleeding mildly.

Levi tossed her a wet rag and calmly took a seat atop his desk, gaze fixed boredly ahead.

Petra approached slowly until she was almost touching him. The proximity brought to memory their previous closeness the night before, and the wildfire of feelings that came with it. Her hand faltered; she had to suppress those thoughts, banish them to where they had lain dormant all day, during the mission. Her and Levi were alone now, and very close, but she was still on duty and he was still her captain. That much was clear by his demeanor - his air of authority.

"I don't have all night," Levi stated, an edge of impatience in his tone.

"Yes, sir," she said, leaning closer and gently placing a hand on his bare shoulder while using the other to dab at the blood with the wet rag. Since he was sitting on desk, she had to stand between his legs to get a good angle on the wound. From mere inches away, his body heat was considerable and near irresistible.

She blocked out the intrusive thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand. This made it easier; her heartbeat calm and hands steady. She tuned in to his even breathing, but still couldn't help admiring his shirtlessness as she wiped the blood off his upper abs and chest. He made no reaction as she pressed the rag to the gash to pick up the rest of the blood.

"You're going to need antibacterial product on that so it doesn't get infected, I'll go grab some from-"

"I have it," he said, unceremoniously pressing a can to her free hand. "Just make it quick. Damn spray hurts like a bitch."

"Yes, captain," she said as she lifted the rag from the wound. She shook the can and gave it a quick spray, to which Levi winced and cursed quietly under his breath. He regained his solemn composure a moment later.

Petra smiled apologetically, preparing the needle and twine how he had once shown her. Without wasting a moment, she delicately punctured the needle into his skin and began sewing up the wound. He closed his eyes, incredibly calm despite the fact that it probably stung.

"Um… permission to speak freely, captain?" She said after getting the hang of the stitching process.

Levi cracked his eyes open, focusing them on her concentrated face.

"Permission granted, Petra, you needn't be so formal with me."

"Oh... well I was wondering how you got this injury. What happened?"

He exhaled lightly, closing his eyes again. "An inexperienced soldier wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings and got in my way. To avoid collision I had to quickly change course, causing my shoulder to scrape a sharp edge of a roof."

He didn't seem pleased about it. From what Petra could recall, Levi almost never got a scratch on him during expeditions. His skill normally enabled him to avoid injury, but some circumstances couldn't be helped.

"In hindsight, collision may not have been so bad. She ended up swinging to her own death," he added flatly.

"Oh, that's unfortunate," she breathed, not knowing what else to say. She hadn't been near Levi at the time to witness the situation, but a fallen soldier was never good to hear about, no matter how inexperienced.

"Yes, it's unfortunate. But I have no regrets. I did what I thought best given the circumstance. That's all we can ever do," he mused, his voice low and soft. It was a different tone than what most people heard from him. He was finally relaxing now - giving her a rare glimpse into his humanity, and trusting her with it.

Petra nodded, adjusting her hands slightly on his chest to get a better angle at her work. The job was almost done; only a few more stitches were required.

"That should do it," she said, cutting the twine after tying the last stitch. She lingered for a moment, looking at the neat row of stitches that now sealed his wound. It looked like a damn good job for her first time, she thought. With a clean rag she gently patted it clean again.

_I should probably remove my hands from his chest right about now,_ she told herself, but her hands wouldn't budge. Levi's eyes were still closed, his breathing still even; he looked calm, peaceful even, clearly at ease with her touch.

With her left hand still patting at the sealed gash, she let her right slowly trail down to his abs, thumb grazing the end of his ribcage. No reaction.

_Damn his abs are nice,_ she thought, now blatantly staring at them. Casting another quick glance at his still-calm face, she slowly let her hand trace down even further, towards his hipbone, all the while admiring his rigid abdominal muscle.

Suddenly Levi's breath caught, his eyes snapped open, and his hand landed on top of hers, preventing her from continuing her exploration.

"What happened last night was a fluke. A lapse of judgment," he said seriously, icy gray eyes boring into her.

Petra's heart lurched, her stomach sinking and her heart catching in her throat, but she responded immediately, without missing a beat.

"I agree completely, captain," she replied, lifting her eyes to meet his icy gaze. She hoped he couldn't detect the insincerity in her voice. What did he mean it was a fluke? He had kissed her back, held her hand over his racing heart, all for nothing? And why did she just agree? She wasn't sure why she had said that when she certainly didn't mean it, and she wasn't sure why she refused to look away from his gaze, his eyes looking as if they were searching hers for something. She was completely flustered, as he always managed to make her, but she was learning how to internalize the feeling, though she was probably still doe-eyed. It was like before; their eye contact lasting too long, outside the realms of normal.

But the look in his eyes was so peculiar, his diligence so entrancing that it captivated her. His eyes narrowed, an unspoken tension paramount between them and growing.

_What is going on behind those silver orbs? What is he thinking?_

Levi lowered his brows, creasing them together slightly in an odd expression that she had never seen on him. His hand closed around hers, lifting it off his torso. He leaned forward, eyes closing and lips crashing into hers.

She kissed back hungrily, her mouth synchronizing with his, a warmth spreading from her chest to her fingertips and her cheeks. Her left hand dropped the rag and slid up between his neck and shoulder as his lips ravished hers.

Suddenly after a long moment her senses returned.

"Wait, captain," she breathed, drawing back slightly and feeling his scowling reaction. "You just said… it was a lapse… in-"

"Fuck what I said," Levi breathed back thickly, sliding down from his desk to stand pressed against her in all his shirtlessness and body heat. He wasted no time claiming her lips again, his arms winding around her waist tightly.

Petra could feel herself growing drunken from his kiss and his hot, muscular body pressed against hers, her hands roaming his bare chest; but a tiny voice made her pull back again.

"Levi, we're... in your... office," she gasped out between kisses.

"We're in my… fucking office," he deadpanned back, not seeming to care an ounce as he continued to passionately kiss her.

Her knees felt shaky suddenly as she ran her hands down his smooth chest and carved abs, landing down near his hipbones. A low, guttural noise came from Levi's throat as he sneered against her lips.

"Only you would have the fucking nerve to touch me like that," he mumbled against her lips. "Fucking troublesome girl…"

He was being more vulgar than usual, his voice laced with a hungry desire which Petra found damn sexy. He was so… _manly_… and as his mouth and tongue pressed deeper and harder into hers, she felt her breath getting shallower, her heart nearly bursting, her fingertips trembling; and her legs feeling like they could give out if he wasn't holding on to her. She ran her hands back up his chest, over his shoulders and around his neck, clutching onto him.

"Petra," he growled, his mouth trailing down to her delicate neck. "Give into me," he said, ravaging her neck as she gasped for air.

Petra whimpered in response, words failing her, every nerve in her body feeling entangled with his. She had already given into him, her arms clutching him like he was her lifeline, her entire being completely overwhelmed by his dominant, manly presence.

Without really noticing, they had moved a few steps back from the desk, towards the plush couch against the wall. In one smooth motion, Levi lifted Petra's knees around his hips, laying her back on the couch and pressing himself on top of her.

In an instant he had his lips to hers again; roughly now, hungrily. His hands gripped her hips tightly as he pressed roughly against her, grinding his own hips in between hers.

Awareness was creeping back up on Petra; his kissing was feeling a little too rough, his torso pressed down too hard she could hardly breath, his bulging hard crotch against hers and… _oh god,_ she thought. Levi was _really damn horny_. She felt suffocated; it was too much to handle, too overwhelming. She had actual _feelings for him_ but he was just incredibly _horny_ right now.

"Levi," she mumbled weakly against his lips to no avail. He continued, taking no notice.

"Le..vi…" she tried again, this time as he bit her lip - a little too hard. She moved her hands down to his chest, unsuccessfully pushing against him.

"Oww… mmff...Le..vi..!," she gasped, beginning to feel cornered, a cold pit of nasty feelings forming in her stomach.

"Captain!" she cried out, finally getting his attention enough to make him pull back with a growl of frustration.

"What the fu-"

Petra slapped him fiercely, and he abruptly sat up in shock. She tasted blood from where he'd bitten her lip. Hurt and betrayal swirled within her, their eyes meeting for a fleeting half-second until her eyes clouded over with tears.

"You're a _jerk_," she spat, her hand instinctively going to her bleeding lip as she quickly rolled off the couch and turned away, still not wanting him to see her tears. She hurried for the door.

"Petra, I didn't-"

"_Leave me alone_," Petra hissed, leaving his office. Thankfully, he didn't follow her as she quickly made her way down the empty hall, the dark gray walls creating a thick, oppressive atmosphere.

In her room she shut the door behind her, locking it before slumping down against it. The tears finally spilled down her cheeks as she bitterly spat blood onto the cold stone floor. How could she have been so naive, tempting him like that? Levi was a _man_, years beyond her; he was a straight man, of course he had desires, easily fulfilled by someone as willing as Petra. But she had been stupid to think he would reciprocate her feelings.

_I can't believe he would use me like that,_ she thought with despair, burying her face in her arms and weeping quietly. They had been great as friends, but she had ruined it, trying to push things to the next level, to a relationship that could never be.

He had left her heart torn and tearing, half of her still longing for him and the other half disgusted with him.

_Why did I have to fall for such a damn jerk?_

* * *

**Well that escalated quickly...**

**Levi you jerk D:**

**How's he gonna get himself out of this one?**

**Thanks so much for all the reviews n such! I'll try to update more often now, I have just been incredibly busy with very little free time!**


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